Top of the Dragon's Back Tavern, three days after the arrival of cheese, snow

"Did you hear that? Jack's sheep lost today. A villager took a sip of wine and said.

"Ah, I heard that the animals have been missing for the past two days, and I don't know what's going on. Another villager nodded and said.

"I've heard that it's a pack of wolves coming from nearby. The third villager accosted.

"No, the cattle are kept in the cow house and the sheep house at night, so how did the wolf get in?"

............

The lively discussion ceases because of the presence of one person. Cheese was still wearing his trademark gray robe, and the snow had accumulated a thin layer on his hood and shoulders, indicating that he had been walking in the snow for some time. When the rumored Grey robe entered the tavern, the villagers unconsciously stopped talking, as if fearful of his presence.

"A glass of ale. Cheese frowned, sat down at the bar and said to the hostess. His eyes were not focused, and it was obvious that he was thinking about something, perhaps so focused that he didn't pay any attention to the whispered fingers of the villagers around him.

Soon, the villagers in the tavern left to settle the bill, and the tavern, which was overcrowded just a moment, turned into only the proprietress and the cheese unconsciously drinking ale in front of the bar. The proprietress cleaned up the plates and cutlery on the table, and the expression on her face was a little angry, after all, cheese had ruined the business in the tavern.

"If you don't find out where those animals went, I'm afraid I'll be closed in less than half a month. Grabbing the already empty wine glass with an almost rude motion, the proprietress complained to the gray robe.

"Ah, sorry, I was thinking about something. Cheese was awakened from his contemplation, looked at the deserted surroundings, and said embarrassedly.

"Since you got here, you've lost nearly ten animals in three days, and if you're hungry, you can tell me. Even if you need raw meat, you can let Grandpa Jon talk about it. The proprietress said as she did a simple cleaning.

"I've said it many times, Elsa, I really have nothing to do with the missing animals, the abyss is below, and how do I explain it to you to believe that I don't need living creatures as sacrifices. Cheese said, holding his head.

The proprietress put down her plate and walked across from the cheese, her hands slammed down on the bar with a loud noise, and after the cheese looked up in fright, she said to the latter in this very imposing gesture.

"Then you go and deal with it! Bring back the real thief, take their skins if they're wolves, take their heads if they're humans! Tell those people you're innocent. ”

I have to say that although Elsa is very sweet, the momentum she shows when she is angry is not at all comparable to those noble ladies in the south, and the fierce blood of the northerners also flows in this girl's body. And our poor cheese became a victim of this momentum, and he was completely implicated. Obviously, the proprietress blamed him for the bad business, although it wasn't wronged him.

"Yes, my lady, but as you can see, I've been running around the village for a day, how about I take a break?" said Cheese with a wry smile. This is true, even though he is a real magician, but magic is not omnipotent, not to mention that he is still investigating the matter of the magic plague, there is really nothing to be done about this unwarranted disaster.

Back in his room, Cheese lay on the cold plank bed staring at the ceiling of the room.

"What the hell is going on...... the young mage muttered in a low voice.

Cheese raised his hand, and in his hand a small green halo condensed, the color of which was neither the green of the forest nor the green of the grass, but a green that made people look evil. It was a gleasome collection from the town, and though it was light, he could be sure it was a dangerous plague of magic. And it must have something to do with the tasks given to me by my own teacher. The mage looked at the green light in his hand, and sorted out what he had experienced in the past few days from beginning to end.

"As soon as I arrived, the cattle began to be lost, so I was almost certainly the most suspicious person, but it wasn't me, unless ......" Cheese's eyes narrowed, and he thought of a possibility. And the next step is to argue whether this might be true. Rolling out of bed and putting on his robes, the mage rushed back to the hall of the tavern as fast as he could in his life.

"Elsa, tell me nothing unusual or strange to happen in this town before I came!"

It was the first time for the proprietress to see Cheese in such an excited state, at least for the past five days, this gray-robed man had always looked like a fool, even if he talked to the leader of the Frost Guard or was criticized by the whole town behind his back, he looked indifferent. So the proprietress was really taken aback.

In fact, cheese has always had the pride of a mage, which is common among people with power, or knowledge. They always think they have more knowledge than the average person, so they can see the keys that are overlooked. And it was because of this pride that although Cheese had been investigating the town for three days, he did not ask the villagers. In the words of his teacher, a mage should believe what he sees more than what people see.

And when the Grey-robed Mage decides to ask someone else for verification, he can also be a good communicator. So Cheese quickly got the information from the proprietress about the black-robed man who had appeared in this tavern three days ago.

"Can you show me that silver coin?"

Elsa was reluctant to take out the valuable silver coin, but she didn't care too much about it in order to solve the theft of livestock in the town as soon as possible.

"This is it. Reluctantly, the proprietress took out a silver coin from the inside of her dress, and instead of handing it directly to the cheese, she put it on the counter. At the same time, she is always on the alert to the actions of the cheese, and if the other party shows the slightest intention to snatch, she will definitely react immediately.

Cheese ignored the lady's movements, and he carefully examined the silver coin, which shone with metallic light in the sunlight shining through the window.

"Icebreaker trout emblem. Cheese whispered with a frown. On the upward side of the coin is a trout symbol jumping out of the ice, which, of course, is only recognizable to anyone familiar with the emblem of the coin, and probably only a fish in the eyes of the average person.

"The emblem of the Ssalonian family?" Although Elsa had little impression of the symbolic system of the nobles, as the closest lord family, she still knew the emblem of the Ssalonn family.

"I think so. Cheese nodded, then turned the coin over, and on the other side of the coin was the royal emblem.

"What does that mean?" Elsa was also intrigued at this point, she wanted to know what the gray-robed man could know with a silver coin.

"The silver coin has the lord's emblem on one side and the royal coat of arms on the other, which proves that the silver coin is a currency approved by the king and then handed over to the lord to mint himself, and generally this type of currency is not circulated too far outside the territory. Because of the difference in the weight of the metal in the coins minted by the various lords, if the merchants who traveled between the major realms preferred to use the currency issued by the king, their value would be more uniform. Cheese said quickly, as a mage who had entered civilized society for the first time, he had only learned a lot of knowledge from books.

"So there's a high probability that any of the black-robed guests is from the Earldom of Salon. And ......"

"And you said three days ago that the county of Saron is finished. Elsa continued with Cheese's words.

"Yes, Raven told me that the land has been destroyed, and the threat of destroying it is still approaching. At first I thought it was an army or some other armed force. Now it seems that maybe I made a mistake. Cheese said. He had previously seen the plague and the destruction of the county of Saron separate, but now he realized that the two might be closer together than he thought.

"What do you mean?" asked the hostess.

"It means that the destruction of the county of Saron may have already reached this town, and if we don't dispose of it quickly and safely, perhaps this town will be very dangerous. Cheese said with a smile.

This time it was Elsa's turn to frown, and she said angrily.

"Why are you so excited when you mention danger?"

"No, my ma'am, I have no interest in mere danger. I'm happy because ...... Well, because of something else. Cheese raised an eyebrow and said.

Elsa was about to speak again, but the grey robe continued to herself.

"Rest assured, I promise to dispose of it, whatever it is. With that, Cheese pulled up his hood and turned to walk out of the tavern.

"Is this the question you gave me? It doesn't bother me like any other question you give me. The mage walked out of the tavern door, muttering to himself in the cold wind mixed with snowflakes.