It was eerily quiet around the stables, and the wind blew through the stacks of haystacks, making a slight sizzling sound. The moon appeared and disappeared in the dark sky, and the wind kept blowing from the north, carrying with it the dark clouds that drifted quickly.

No one thought that there would be people here at this time, there were not even guards by the rudimentary wooden gate, the demon was targeting people, and these horses did not need to be guarded at all.

Stan and Nerfi tiptoe into the stable, and by the moonlight they find the groom sleeping on the haystack, as well as the two horses in the corner.

"Stan, is it really the right thing for us to do?" Nerfi hesitated as she stroked the mane of her horse's neck.

Stan tightened the saddle. "I'm not sure about Nerfi either, but it's better than dying here. ”

Nerfi pursed her lips. "But our luggage was still in the room. ”

"None of that matters, at least our weapons are still around. Stan touches the sword at his waist. "As long as we get out of here, everything is not a problem. ”

Nerfi no longer struggled and struggled to climb onto the horse's back with Stan's help, tightening the reins.

Stan also rolls over his horse, calms himself down, and leads the horse slowly towards the door.

The humming of the horses echoed every corner of the stable, and the groom turned over on the haystack and watched sleepily as the two horses approached him. Just when Stan thinks trouble is inevitable, the groom just yawns, rolls over and goes back to sleep.

Stan glanced back at Nerfi, and the two quickly rode out of the stable.

It was only a few dozen paces from the stables to the north gate of the castle, and the two of them rode faster, but they did not dare to ride too fast, lest they arouse the suspicion of the guards. A group of patrolling soldiers passed by the two men, and although the soldiers wondered why the two heroes who had saved Fadar appeared in the castle in the middle of the night on horseback, they were heroes, and they must have had a legitimate reason, so no one asked, and let the two pass quickly.

The two heavy iron gates of the north gate were closed, guarded by five soldiers on each side, and Stan tilted his head slightly. "I'll deal with them. ”

One of the soldiers, who appears to be the captain, recognizes Stan and bows respectfully. "Hello, Savior of Fadar, Knight of Canrito, Stan, may I ask if there is anything we need help with. ”

Stan pulls his mount in a very natural tone. "We've been attacked in the castle just now, and I'm sure you've heard of it, and although we have escaped the danger safely, we're sleepy now, so we'd like to go to a tavern in the city to have some wine to relieve our boredom." ”

"Of course, we heard it, and the explosion was loud. The captain nodded.

"Another sneak attack in the castle? What's going on, how did these demons get into the castle, is there anything else we're ignoring?" another soldier stepped in.

Stan pats his mount on the neck. "No, you're doing a great job, don't feel guilty. ”

The captain shook his head in annoyance. "It is a remiss of our duty to put our heroes in danger. ”

"Enemies are everywhere, we must be careful at all times, and you cannot anticipate all the circumstances. Stan said slowly, trying not to sound like he was in a hurry. "We've got to go, and hopefully there's still a tavern open in the city, even if it's under siege by the Dark Tide. ”

The captain thought for a moment. "Yes, there are taverns that stay open all night, and as far as I know there is a very famous tavern in the south of the city, the heart of Cumberland, yes, that's the name, and their own ale is the best Fadar could find. ”

"Sounds good, but since this is the north gate, we want to go to the north of the city, and the dark tide is coming from the south, so going to the north will make us more comfortable. Stan puts his hands on the reins and sits upright on his horse.

"To the north, there is also a good one, the thorn of the moon season, which seems to be called this name, and I don't go there much. The captain turned back to his colleagues. "That's right, that's the name, you go along this avenue, the tavern is on the left side of the road, you won't miss it, you know that there aren't many taverns still open in the middle of the night. ”

"Okay, thank you very much, the thorn of the moon season, I remember. Stan smiled and nodded in acknowledgement and led the horse forward, and Nerfi nodded his gratitude to the captain of the guard, following Stan.

The four soldiers pulled open the heavy iron door and stood straight by the gate, watching the two leave. The door closes behind them again, and Stan and Nerfi both let out a sigh of relief, and the street is hidden in the darkness at the end, and the road is empty, not even the street lights, but thankfully the moon lights the way for the two of them.

The wind blew through the streets, making it feel cool, and Nerfi put on his hood. "What are we going to do next? It's easy to get out of the castle, but it's hard to get out of Fadar. ”

Stan looks at the end of the street and sighs. "You're right, the whole city of Fadar is cordoned off, not only can no one enter, but no one can go out, and the guards know this very well, so they are relieved to let us leave the castle. ”

Nerfi rode up to Stan's side and looked at his resolute face. "Do you have any plans?"

Stan shook his head and looked at the mage. "Let's go to the tavern first, at least I'm comfortable leaving the castle. As he spoke, the horses had already taken a step.

The sound of horses' hooves was loud in the empty streets, and the houses were already asleep on the side of the road, but after a few minutes, a lit glass oil lamp shook in the wind, enticing Stan to ride there.

"The thorn of the moon season. Stan looks up at the creaking sign and faintly hears the sound of a mandolin coming out of the door.

"This is it. Stan bolted the two horses to the pillar at the entrance to the tavern, pushed the door open and walked in, and suddenly a warm moisture rushed over him, and the air was filled with the scent of ale, which made people relax.

A deep voice reached the ears of the two of them. "Even though the night has fallen, even though the darkness is near, but my friends, you are still here at midnight, this is your safe haven, no matter who you are, you can find a moment of rest here, you can find precious peace in your hearts, welcome you, my friends.

The voice seemed to have life, rushing straight into the minds of the two people, making people feel refreshed. Following the voice, a bard in a wide hat sat by the fire, his eyes full of wisdom as he watched the two men who had just entered.

"Hello bard, your voice is full of power, and I'm glad we can rest here for a while. Stan finds the closest table to the bard and sits down, and the bard continues to play the mandolin, soothing notes drifting over his ears.

The food and drinks have been served, and Stan takes a long sip of the wine, finally recovering from his nervousness. Only then did he realize that the bard in front of him had a wrinkled face, obviously very old, and his cloak was made of pieces of cloth of different colors, constantly changing color with the movement of his body. Although there were not many people in the tavern, the old bard still played and sang very seriously. His tunes are sometimes passionate, sometimes low, and his penetrating voice seems to tell an epic. At the end of the song, Stan even feels like he has been reborn and is ready to go.

The guests applauded, and Stan pulled out a silver coin and placed it in the instrument box in front of the old bard. "It's a pity I can't give you more. ”

The old man stares sharply into Stan's eyes. "I suppose you must not have carried your luggage, young man, otherwise you could have given more. ”

Stan's heart jumps violently, and he looks up at the old man, only to see that the other man is smiling and regaining his previous demeanor.

Before Stan could say anything more, the bard moved on to the next tune, but Stan didn't bother to listen to it, knowing that tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.