Autumn has passed for the most part, and the wind is blowing a chill on the body. The yellow leaves on the edges are even more decadent in the light of the setting sun, and they make a sound when the wind blows.

Fern Woodrow buried his face in his hood, his brown eyes staring into the distance of the wide, endless avenue. The Golden Mile, as its name suggests, bears all the responsibility of connecting Deville, the richest of the southwestern reaches of the continent of Wallis, with countless convoys and supplies coming and going every day, though it seems to have been reduced in the last month. Ominous news continued to come from the northern border of the mainland, and the dark tide, a name that had almost disappeared from people's memory, spread again on the mainland, causing a little panic in the rich land of the far southwest.

In the past, Fern could easily get a carriage into town, and then easily get to the city while chatting with the coachman. But now it wasn't so easy, and the convoy that passed by Fern's side hurried past with nervous expressions, as if they hadn't seen him at all, though Fern could clearly see that they were passing him with their hands on the hilt of their swords. The Sara people, who had fled from the north, could not find a way to make ends meet, so they resorted to looting. Since several lone carriages had been looted, the caravans had not dared to stop longer on the Golden Mile, let alone carry passers-by.

The sunset was even lower, and the last trace of light was weakly basking on the earth, and the clouds in the sky were also dyed red, as if they were blood. A gust of evening breeze cleared Fern from his thoughts, and he tugged at the edge of his cloak so that his body could be completely covered by it, and continued his way towards the city of Deville.

When the sun was setting and there was only a glimmer of light on the horizon, Fern saw the city of Deville in the distance. This magnificent city is the richest bastion of trade and culture in the southwest of Wallis and indeed in the entire west. Legend has it that when Wallis was born, the god of craftsmen built the city and blessed it with eternal abundance. The white granite walls are adorned with red and golden lion flags, stretching as far as Fern can see. The city's towering minarets are adorned with gold carvings that glisten in the light of the sky. Although Fern had looked at Deville from this angle countless times, at this moment, he still did not want to take his eyes off it, and was attracted by the magnificent scenery for a long time.

A few wisps of smoke rose from the city, telling Fern that it was dinner time, and Fern seemed to hear the chatter and laughter in the taverns in the city, and the bargaining in the market, all of which excited him. Ahead was the stone road into the city, which heralded only half an hour from the city gate, and Fern walked in three steps and two steps.

As at the end of the usual commission, Fern first rushed to the "Queen's Favor" tavern. The Queen's Favor is not the largest tavern in Deville, but it is definitely the most crowded, as two-thirds of Deville's commissions are exchanged between clients and various job seekers. Fern had just finished an errand that would be too laborious for him, delivering an important letter from a wealthy family to Canrito, and then bringing back the reply.

"My old friend, you're finally back," a very capable man came out of the kitchen, looking not young, his sideburns were already gray, rubbing his hands together and greeting, "I've been waiting for you for two days, what made you late?"

"The convoys on the road aren't very friendly," said Ferne, who removed his hooded cape, revealing his slightly curly dark brown hair, barely wrinkled face, indicating that he was in the prime of life, and his stubble showed maturity beyond his years, "If I had before, I could have come back here almost without having to walk on my own." ”

The tavern was full of life, and the man turned to the kitchen and shouted a few words to the kitchen, apparently the owner of the tavern, and led Fern to a table.

"I'm sure you've heard, Fern, things aren't going well in the North," the man sat across from Fern, "and it seems that the South has been affected a lot, and you can't expect the merchants to still be kind enough to give you a ride." ”

Fern untied the sword from the left side of his belt and placed it on the edge of the table, "I understand, Rod, but it's not a bad thing, at least, for us. 2.8.Chinese-Text.Net"

"That's true. Rhodes sat down across from Fern and looked at him thoughtfully, "So, what's next?"

"You should give me a break, I don't have the energy you have to work all the time. Fern smiled and shook his head.

Fern had always felt that Rhodes had an inexhaustible amount of energy, and the most puzzling thing for Fern was that no matter what time of day he walked into the tavern, Rhodes could always see him before he sat down. "Maybe the guy told him. Fern thought.

"You know what, Fern, it's time for you to change your sword, I have the best sword in Deville. Rod picked up Fern's longsword, a sword of extreme simplicity, unadorned neither from its scabbard nor its hilt.

The tavern hostess brought a jug of wine and some side dishes to accompany it, and poured a glass for Fern.

Fern finished the wine in his glass and poured another glass for himself, "Just say anything about it, Rod." ”

"Very well, you will thank me for your wise decision," Rhodes licked his lips and lowered Fern's sword, "Yesterday evening, a girl from Chavanna came to me, and you must not have guessed how much gold she was willing to pay......"

Fern waited for Rod to continue, but Rod seemed to be waiting for Fern to guess and then surprise him.

"Hell, you didn't even say what the commission was, how could I possibly guess, let's say, I'll be sure to pretend to be surprised. Fern said impatiently.

Rod was still smug, "Okay okay, you'd better drag your chin so you don't ...... Rhodes wanted to put on a show, but seeing Fern's furrowed eyebrows, he decided to get into the subject, "A thousand gold coins." ”

Although Fern was prepared not to react, he still couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard the number, "So, what does she want to entrust?"

"It's easy," Rhodes' gaze shifted from Ferne's face to the table, "to help her complete some tasks that will allow her to pass the trials of the Shavarna Mage Tower." ”

"It's that simple?" Fern didn't know much about the Mage Tower, in fact, the entire Deville knew about the Mage Tower could probably be counted on one hand. "Do you know what these trials are about?"

"Of course I do," Rhodes looked around, "Well, not very well, but it's just very easy little tasks, you see, how can an apprentice of a mage tower, or even a real mage, be embarrassed by her?"

"You know Rod," Fern poured the last glass of wine into his stomach, "you'd better get rid of the habit of not looking at people when you speak, it will expose you that you're lying." ”

Rod's gaze shifted back to Fern's face, "You think I'm lying?" Okay, I'll admit I'm a little ...... Kindness...... But it doesn't affect your understanding of this matter, you have to understand that if I publish this news, I will immediately be surrounded by hundreds of guys with swords, and beg me to give them this opportunity. ”

Fern listened to Rod, took the letter that Canrito had brought back from the inside pocket of his coat and handed it to him, and picked up his sword, "I'll get paid tomorrow." ”

Rod saw Fern get up and walk to the door of the tavern, and stamped his foot anxiously behind him, "You'd better not let this good opportunity slip away, no matter what, she'll be here tomorrow evening." ”

"I understand......" Fern had already walked to the tavern door, "I'll come." ”

The sun had already passed its highest point and began to set, and Fern lazily got up from his bed.

"It's good weather again," Fern said to himself, "just a little late." ”

As for yesterday's events, Fern himself couldn't tell why he agreed to Rod, maybe it was the thousand gold coins that made any unknown danger not to fear, but Fern felt that he was not a greedy person for money. Perhaps it was because of his former companion, Fern's eyes became dull and dim at the thought of this, and he decided not to think about it anymore, and slouched out of bed.

In the evening, Fern walked into the "Queen's Favor" again, and Rhodes still greeted him immediately, "Ferne, I knew you would come, oh, of course, you said you would come, come, here, this table." ”

Fern followed Rod's guidance to a nondescript table in the corner of the tavern, which no one would have noticed if he had walked in from outside the tavern.

On the inside of the table sat against the wall a girl in a thick hooded cape, the brim of which was so long that Fern could not see her face as he stood. It can be seen from the size that she is a young girl.

"Miss Ness," Rhodes whispered, rubbing his hands together and hunched over, "I have no intention of disturbing you, but the escort I have found for you has arrived, and I think you will be satisfied." ”

The girl lifted her head slowly, the brim of her hat was too long for her to fully see the mercenary in front of her, and she pushed the brim back with her hand to barely see Fern.

After looking at Fern for a few seconds, she lowered her head again, "Very well, now please sit down, Swordsman, we have a lot to talk about." ”

Fern slowly sat down in the chair across from him, "Hello, dear young lady, I'm Fern, Fern Woodrow, as you can see, I'm a ...... Oh...... Swordsman", apparently Fern wasn't used to being called a swordsman, "I need to hear your description before any commission between us takes effect." ”

"Swordsman, I'm going to call you Fern now, my name is Ness," the girl flipped her hood back so that the guards on the opposite side could see her, "You don't need to know my full name, just call me Ness, I'm sure Boss Rhodes has already introduced you, I'm an apprentice in the Mage Tower, and I need someone to help me with some 'small tasks' so that I can pass the trials and become a real mage." ”

Fern looked carefully at the apprentice across from him, she looked seven or eight years younger than Fern, with blonde reddish hair and sky-blue pupils, suggesting that he was not a native of Deville. The hair was tied in a ponytail at the back of the head, and a few strands of hair hung down the side of the face. Her small nose and mouth made her look very well-behaved, and her fair skin revealed to Fern that she must not have lived in the wild for long.

Fern looked at the girl in front of him and suddenly felt funny. Looking at the outside, it is clear that she is still a little girl who is not deeply involved in the world, but she insists on pretending to be very sophisticated, and I believe that she is also looking for mercenaries to help because she is inexperienced and needs an experienced guard to protect her. But Fern can understand her, and if he doesn't pretend to be old-fashioned, he will only arouse the thief of others.

"Of course, Miss Ness, allow me to call you Ness," Fern waited for Ness to nod slightly, then continued, "I'm an experienced escort in every way, and you can trust Boss Rod's eyes. But......" Fern paused, "first you have to tell me the contents of those 'little tasks,' or I'm sure no one will dare to accept this commission." ”

Ness winked at Fern unexpectedly, clearly unhappy with the question. "Like I said, it's all 'little tasks', like ...... "Apparently Ness was thinking about how to tell Fern without scaring the mercenary away," going to some villages to investigate something. ”

"Some villages?" Fern stared into Ness's eyes.

Ness took a sip of the hot tea that Rhodes had brought her. "I don't know the exact location yet, I have to complete these trials in order, and after each trial is completed, I will not know the name of the next destination, but my mentor told me that it is not a problem to find a qualified escort. ”

With that, Ness looked at Fern with a smile, as if she had determined that she had no room for refusal to say this.

Fern took a slow sip of his wine, considering how to answer the question, and finally, he put down his glass, "I understand, so where is the first destination?"

Ness was obviously satisfied with this answer, and couldn't hide the smugness in her heart at all, smiled and took out a map from the leather bag beside her and spread it on the table, then pointed to the north of the middle of the map, "This is it." ”

Fern was amazed that there was such a detailed and clear map, and the paper was of the best parchment, and ordinary people could not get such a good map. Seeing the place Ness was pointing to, she couldn't help but whisper, "It's Canrito again, and he just left that hellish place." ”

"Looks like you've just been, that's even better. Ness smirked, the composure she had deliberately pretended just now had already run to the other side of the Endless Sea.

"It's not as optimistic as you think," Fern looked at the map where Canrito was, "the war in the north is getting closer and closer to Canrito, where preparations are going on right now. ”

"I don't think it's too much of a hindrance for us," Ness tilted her head to look at the map, "we're just ordinary travelers, we don't get involved in this kind of trouble, and we don't stay in the city for long, to a village northeast of Canrito." ”

"Why don't you go to Canrito to find the mercenaries and take a long detour to Deville?" said Fern as he gestured between Chavanna and Deville.

Ness seemed to be prepared, "Everyone knows that Deville has Wallis's best mercenaries. She then pointed to a plain area southeast of Canrito, "This is where we'll end up returning, Shawannah, after all the trials, ...... Let me think about it, hopefully we can finish it in three months, and the mentor of the Mage Tower will give me the Mage's Ring, which symbolizes the true magician, and at the same time you can get what you deserve. ”

After saying it in one breath, Ness looked into Fern's eyes, "Well, will you accept this commission?" I believe that at least in half a year, the entire Deville will not be paid more than a thousand gold coins. I need your answer right away, because once it's finalized, we'll have to leave tomorrow. ”

For a long time, neither of them spoke, and Rhodes kept wiping down another already clean table near them. The entrance to the tavern was constantly filled with people coming and going, and the noise of people talking and laughing was all around.

Just as Ness was initially worried that Fern might answer in the negative, Fern spoke, "I accept it...... I'm not sure if that's the case, though. ”

I heard Rhodes, who was still quietly wiping the table just now, suddenly shout to the door to greet a customer who had just stepped into the tavern, and both of them suddenly recovered from the tense atmosphere.

"Very well," Ness smiled, relieved, "then, experienced Guardian Fern, please tell me what we need to do now." ”

Fern felt as if he had made the biggest decision of his life just now, and now he was a little prostrate. "Meal, dinner time has long passed. ”