The hazy eyes slowly opened, and a white ball of light, slightly larger than a fist, floated in the air, and behind the ball of light, there was a pitch-black night sky. It was already night, and Fern struggled to sit up, a violent headache hit, and he clutched his head so hard that there was a twitch in his temples that almost made him fall again. When he finally sat down, Fern found himself in the middle of a wood, surrounded by silence, and in front of him, Jarena curled up her legs and watched him quietly.

"You're finally awake, Ferne. The archmage didn't know whether he was excited or relieved in his eyes.

Fern looked at the archmage suspiciously, then glanced around again, only to see two mounts grazing on the side. "We ...... Not dead?"

"Almost, I died. Jasmina stood up, walked over to Fern and crouched down, her hands on either side of the mercenary's temples. "Do you have a headache?"

"That's right, I have a splitting headache, I do it a lot, it's terrible. Fern's face was also distorted by the sharp pain.

"Take a deep breath. Jasmine looked earnestly into Ferne's eyes, her hands glowing softly. "It's going to be fine in a minute. ”

A quiet force invaded Fern's brain, and with the scent of fragrance wafting from ahead, he felt his head belong to him again, his distorted face soothed, and his breathing became even.

Jamina stood up and walked back to where she had been sitting. "If you have a headache, could you please prepare some food and hot tea? ”

Fern looked up in surprise. "Have you been waiting here for me to wake up, without eating anything?"

Jasmine looked down at the ground in embarrassment, and her speech became slurred. "Alone in this pitch-black wood, I dare not do anything, not even a fire, but use a ball of light to maintain some light, and, I ...... I'm not going to get the food, you see, the panniers are all wet, and I don't know what has become of the contents. ”

Fern smiled faintly and walked over to the dark clouds. "No matter how wet you are, you can always find something that works, and besides, it's because it's wet that you need to deal with it more so that they can dry sooner. ”

Morena licked her dry lips and watched without saying a word as Fern emptied the contents of the pannier bag and began to expertly sort through the messy items inside. Fern picked out some sausages and soaked bread from it, spread the rest out on the ground, and then he found some dry branches from all around and piled them together. "The velvet can't be used, so I'll have to trouble you to use fire magic to light these firewoods. ”

Morena easily lit the firewood and swallowed unconsciously as Fern set up the stand and baked the wet bread and sausages on the stand. Fern noticed the mage's embarrassment, and after placing a jug of cold water on the stand, the mercenary sat down across from the fire. "You can at least drink some cold water or eat some wet bread first. ”

"I think it's better to wait until you wake up. Jasmina looked distractedly at the stand strung with flames. "I'm going to make a mess of everything. ”

Fern pulled a short dagger from his boot and flicked the branches in the fire. "Have you barely left town, and even if you leave for a short time, you will have a large retinue with you?"

"Yes, that's been it since childhood. Jarena buried her chin between her knees. "I thought it would be fun to venture out into the wild without an entourage, but I didn't expect it to be like this. ”

Fern couldn't help but laugh. "If you regret it, I can send you back to Durham first, it's not too far from there. ”

Jamina looked up and looked at the mercenary quietly. "You can't do without me, Ferne, and you can't do anything without me. ”

Fern's gaze met that of the archmage, then looked down at the fire again. "You're right, Morena, I can't do this task alone, I can't find the Artifact on my own......" Fern suddenly remembered something, and looked at the archmage suspiciously. "By the way, I forgot to ask, how did we escape the pursuit of those dark tides and still sit here safely?"

"That's a long story, and before I start, Ferne, I want to have a hot cup of tea first. Jalena pursed her dry lips and stared blankly at the teapot and food on the stand.

Fern smiled, took the teapot and poured a cup of hot black tea, then took a roasted dripping sausage from the stand and handed it to the archmage. "I'm starving, I wonder if you'll starve yourself to death if I don't wake up. ”

Even though she was about to faint from hunger, Morena ate gracefully, just biting down one bite at a time. "Perhaps, but I'm sure you'll wake up, because it's not ordinary people who save us, it's ...... Dragon. ”

"Dragon?" Fern stopped pouring his own tea. "As I sank underwater, I did see a behemoth underneath. ”

"Yes, the dragon, it was a blue dragon, and he saved us. Jasmine finished her sausage and slowly sipped her tea. "After that, he took me to the void and gave me the artifact. ”

"Void, what's that?" Fern then poured his tea, and suddenly, he realized that Morena had mentioned a name in her words, and his heart was excited, and the teacup in his hand was knocked over. "What did you say? You've got the Hallows!?"

"Yes, Fern, the Artifact is with me. Jasmina didn't look so excited, and she slowly pushed a metal box out of the shadows beside her. "It's in this box. ”

Ignoring the overturned teacup, Fern walked to the archmage in a few steps, and excitedly picked up the box. "Finally...... That's right, it's this metal box, I remember it, and for it, the Crows perished. ”

Morena looked at the mercenary sympathetically, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes. Fern looked for the switch on the box and tried to turn it on, but after some attempts, he couldn't find a way to turn it on. "How the hell is this thing going to open?"

"It takes magic to open it. Jasmine was still drinking her tea, and didn't seem to want to open it.

"Can you open it?" said Fern staring expectantly into the archmage's eyes.

Morena thought about it for a moment and sighed. "I can, Fern, I know the spell to turn it on. ”

"Can you open it up and let me see? I've been trying to see what the hell is in here since the crows went down a few years ago, please, Molina. Fern held the box in front of the archmage, and his whole body trembled with excitement.

"I can open it, Fern, but you have to promise me to look at it sensibly. Jasmina took the box and looked at Fern earnestly.

Fern nodded. "Don't worry, it's all gone, I just want to know what's inside. ”

Jasmina closed her eyes, feeling the magic fluctuations on the box, and as the archmage's frowning brow gradually loosened, a slight click sounded, and the archmage handed the box back to the mercenary. Fern looked at the box nervously, his hand shaking when he opened the lid, and finally, he saw the thing inside that had made him lose all of his fellow crows, it was a very strangely shaped golden gem, neither round nor any regular shape, and even at every moment, it changed shape, but when Fern blinked, it didn't seem to change at all.

"This is the Hallows, how do you use it?" Fern handed the box to Molina.

The archmage looked at the gem and didn't have any clues. "None of the books that can be found mentioning the Hallows explicitly state how to use them, and I guess it must be to protect them from the wicked people, and we should show Manfred or Adeline what they should know. ”

"No!" Fern snatched the box from the archmage's hand. "We're going to take it to Cerendra and use it to get Ness back, we can't give him to Manfred and Adeline, they won't agree to trade it for Ness. ”

"Listen to me, Fern. Jarena stared solemnly into Fern's wary eyes. "The Hallows don't belong to anyone, it belongs to all of Wallis, you can't decide how to use it, and if the Hallows falls into the hands of the Twilight Cult, the consequences will be unimaginable. ”

"I can't care so much, I don't care what happens to Wallis, I just want Ness to come back safely!" Fern closed the lid and clutched the box tightly in his arms, afraid that Jasmine would take it away. "I beg you, Molina, not to try to take it away, we have been together along the way, and I don't want to hurt you because of the Hallows. ”

Morena looked at Fern for a long time, and her expression finally eased slowly. "My fears have come true, Fern, but I've always had a glimmer of hope that sane you will look into the bigger picture. ”

"The big picture? is it for us to sacrifice our fellow soldiers? I won't do that, how much risk we have taken for this damn Hallows, and that damn holy seal, and it only turns out that it has satisfied the selfish desires of some people, and I will not be used by anyone again, this time, I will decide my own fate, and the fate of my companions!" Fern said firmly, and walked back to the fire, holding the box. "Jarena, I don't expect you to be on my side, but I won't forgive you if you try to forcibly take the Hallows. ”

The gloss in Molina's eyes dimmed. "Fern, have you ever thought that if I really want to take the Hallows, why am I still here waiting for you to wake up, I could have left here with the Hallows while you were still asleep, do you really think that I would sit here and wait for you until I starve to death?"

Fern looked at the archmage in bewilderment, and the firelight flickered in the eyes of the two. Morena didn't say anything more, she took a piece of dried bread from the stand herself, and ate it slowly, the archmage's shoulders shaking unnoticedly, tears rolling down her cheeks.