Fern led the way alone, while Ness cautiously followed the mercenary. After a night's blizzard, the road had covered the mage's calves, and it took twice as much effort for Ness to take each step than on flat ground. And Ferne, after all, is a lot taller than Niss, so it's relatively easy.

The surrounding terrain was becoming more and more varied, and they had entered the edge of the mountains, with low hills on both sides. Sometimes there seems to be no road in the distance in front of them, but after rounding the foot of a mountain, a path leading to the end of the distance appears in front of the two of them. At this point, Ness would sit down on a stone by the side of the road and rest for a while, while Fern stopped a short distance ahead to wait for her.

Just as the sky began to darken, the two of them heard the faint sound of running water.

Ness excitedly caught up with Fern, her eyes lit up. "Fern, do you hear me? ”

"Well, it should be the Jordan River, not far ahead. "It's a lot further north than the border between Doyle and Sarah, so why is the river still flowing?"

Ness didn't care. "I think I'm also under the influence of the dark lord, let's go over quickly. With that, Ness walked forward briskly, as if she could camp and rest by the river.

The two of them turned another hill, and finally saw the Jodon River flowing slowly in the valley on the edge of the cliff. The river is very wide, apparently a main stream in Sarah, but only slightly frozen on the riverbed near the land on either side, and in the middle of the river the clear water flows endlessly. On the other side of the river, it was very different from the side where the two had come, with no mountains and cliffs, but an endless plain dotted with sparse coniferous forests.

Fern took out his map and followed the Jordan River east to find a bridge to cross. "Ness, I've always wanted to ask you, where did you get this map? I've never seen a map so detailed, even the bridges over the Jordan River. ”

"This ...... I don't know. Ness's eyes rolled in her sockets. "It was given to me by the archmage, they have a way. ”

Fern sighed, as if the results of his search were not good. "There are only three bridges from here to Talheim, and Talheim is on the north side of the Jodon River, and we have to cross one of them. ”

Ness asked, a little puzzled, "Is there a problem then?" ”

Fern tucked the map into his clothes, still looking unoptimistic. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, if I were a demon, I would definitely send ghouls to guard these bridges, or even guard them myself. ”

"But you're not a demon, they won't be as smart as you. Ness looked at Fern with a smile.

"I hope so. Fern looked around and found the nearest way down to the river. At the bottom of this cliff, most of the light is blocked by the cliff, and the sky is even darker.

Ness used her flying skills and flew straight to Fern's side. "Only at this time does flying save more energy than walking down. But then the mage was frightened by the dim light and the towering cliffs behind him. "Fern I'm not feeling well, are we going to walk along the river at the foot of the cliff?"

"Yes, although there are some woods on the other side of the river, there is not a single tree on this side that can hide our whereabouts, so this is the safest place. Fern found a relatively flat stone and sat down. "Let's eat something first, we'll have to walk a long way later. ”

"What?" Ness thought that was the end of the day's trek, but now that Fern said that, it didn't seem to be the case. "Do you want to continue your journey at night?"

Fern took out the flint again and began to make a fire. "We must reach the Sadowa bridge tonight, and then cross the river in the dark, and we will be discovered by the dark tide far away when it is dawn. ”

"And what if there's no dark tide on the bridge?" Ness resisted.

"We can't take this risk, and if we find out tomorrow that there are ghouls or even demons on the bridge, and even if we don't find out, we have to wait until the evening to cross the river, then we won't be able to reach Talheim in five days. Fern lit the fire very quickly and immediately started boiling hot water.

Ness sat down on the stone in frustration and began rummaging through Fern's package for something to eat.

The two wasted no time, and after quickly filling their stomachs, they immediately continued their journey. After making two turns in the river that was constantly diverging, it was almost midnight, and the weather was cloudless during the day, and now the moon was dark and the wind was high.

Ness followed Fern with some fear, the sound of the river around them all the time. "Fern, I've always had a wish to build a little house by a river and fall asleep listening to the sound of the river every day. ”

"It's simple, if you want, when your trial is over, I can help you make it happen. Fern didn't look back, still moving at a fixed pace.

"Really, Fern, I remember, don't fool me then. Ness said happily.

"Don't worry, it's you, are you going to live there forever?" Fern found himself wishing that Ness would always live there.

"Probably not. Ness's voice lowered, "But I'll stay for two days when I get the chance." ”

"Well, I'll go while you're there. As soon as Fern spoke, he realized that he had said too much, and quickly added, "Maybe Stan and Ray will go with him." ”

"Yes, that's great!" Ness smiled warmly, and made a secret note of the agreement.

After another thirty-degree turn in the river, Fern came to an abrupt halt. "It's not far from the Sadowa Bridge, and from now on we're keeping a distance of ten yards between us, and I'm scouting in front of me so as not to be spotted by the dark tide. With that, Fern picked up two round pebbles from the river and handed them to Niss. "If anything, don't speak, throw me with this, under the cover of the sound of the water, the ghoul should not be able to hear the sound of the pebbles falling to the ground. ”

Ness nodded nervously and held the stone tightly in her hand. Fern nodded at her, then turned and walked forward vigilantly.

As she got closer to the Sadowa Bridge, Ness could already faintly see the outline of the bridge by the occasional moonlight. It was a very majestic bridge, and it must have been the responsibility of carrying a large area of people crossing the river during the non-war period. But from a distance, the bridge is lifeless, and it looks like a ruin across the river.

Not far ahead, Fern lowered his body and kept shuttling between the huge rocks lying by the river, slowly advancing forward while vigilantly watching the movement on the other side of the bridge. Ness lowered her body as well, following Fern exactly the path she had taken.

Without encountering any surprises, Fern was already very close to the bridge. At a distance of about a hundred yards, the mercenary halted his advance, hiding behind a rock that could completely cover his figure, and quietly observed the situation on the bridge. Suddenly, he saw a stone pillar on the bridge and stuck out a head to look around, and Fern immediately retracted his exposed body, revealing only one eye to continue to watch, his brain spinning rapidly. "Is it a ghoul?"

I saw that in the faint moonlight, the head turned in a circle and hid back behind the stone pillar. It was as if nothing had happened, and there was still silence.

Fern beckoned behind him, and Ness immediately ran behind the rocks. "There's a situation on the bridge, and I'm not sure if it's a dark tide, but in this situation, I'd rather think it's a dark tide and prepare for the worst. Fern whispered to Ness.

"And what are your plans?" Nessy looked at Fern worriedly, clenching her wand in her hand.

Fern thought about it for a moment, but still couldn't think of a good idea. "Well, you wait here, I'll go to the bridge to reconnoitre, and if there's no situation, I'll call you over." ”

Ness shook her head in vehement. "That's too dangerous, you already see the danger, but do you want to go over?"

"I can't think of any other way, someone has to go and find out. Fern barely managed to squeeze out a smile. "I'll be fine, and if there's danger, you can immediately cast a spell to help me. With that, the mercenary turned around and was about to start moving, but was grabbed by Niss's arm.

Fern looked back at Ness's somewhat angry face. "Fern, if I could, I wish I could cast a spell on you that would stop you from making any dangerous moves at any time. Ness pursed her lips and looked at Fern with a frown.

"If that happens, we'll never be able to cross the river, we'll never be able to move forward, and sometimes, adventures are inevitable. Fern took Ness's hand away, nodded to the mage, and turned again and quickly moved towards the Sadowa Bridge, where Ness had to hide behind the rocks and keep an eye on the bridge.

Just as Fern was thirty yards away from the bridge, Ness suddenly saw what Fern was talking about, a head flashing out of the pillar, and then disappearing behind the pillar after making a circle in an eerie way. Ness even saw a little bit of the body attached to the head, and she always felt that something was wrong with the head, but she couldn't find an answer all of a sudden.

Fern continued to walk cautiously forward, step by step, getting closer and closer, and there were almost ten yards left. At this moment, a sudden excitement suddenly occurred in Ness's mind, she knew that something was wrong with the head, and the mage wanted to shout at Fern to warn him, but that would expose their tracks, so she had to pick up the stones in her hand and throw them forward at Fern, but Fern was already too far away from her, and both stones fell to the ground some distance behind Fern.

Fern seemed to hear the noise behind him and glanced back, but in the darkness he couldn't see where Ness was, so he turned his head and continued closer to the bridge.

Ness was almost crying in the back, and the mage called anxiously in his heart, "Fern, come back, it's not a living head at all, its body doesn't move at all, but its head turns in a circle." Come back!