The sky was pitch black, and the stars and moon were completely obscured by heavy dark clouds, and Stan and Nerfi rode in the endless darkness, only Nerfi's orb of light guided their path.

Stan's mood is like this pitch black land, it has been two days since they fled Thun, and although he knows in his heart that Thun will not survive the attack of the dark tide, Stan still has the last glimmer of hope that Dorn's reinforcements will arrive in time.

With the faint glow of the ball of light, Nerfi glanced at Stan's stern face. "Gunther's order is correct, and we can't help by staying there, so we should go to Dorne and ask for help. ”

"But it's still too painful for me to leave Thun like that. Stan shook his head anxiously. "The knights sent by Gunther should have arrived in Dorne a long time ago, and even if they didn't, Dorne must have received a letter from the scholar, why haven't they sent reinforcements all this time?!"

"Maybe we're going two ways and we're missing out, maybe Dorne's reinforcements are now fighting the dark tide with Thune. Nerfi tries to comfort Stan.

"Let's hope so, although you and I both know that this is very unlikely, this is the fastest route between Dorne and Thun, and we can't afford to miss out on reinforcements of this size!" Stan's tone was still anxious.

Nerfi rode up to Stan's side, and her tone became softer. "Don't worry, Stan, when we get to Dorne, everything will be revealed. ”

Stan nodded, not saying anything more, and the two continued in silence in the darkness.

The main city of Dorne is similar to Thun, but it is not large in size, with scattered blue flags fluttering in the wind. Not long after the sun had just risen, the sun was shining from behind, turning the walls golden and the gilm of the flag swaying, which was their only hope in Stan's eyes.

The gates of the city walls were locked, and the two were allowed to enter the city after a handwritten letter from Guntel was handed over. Despite the fact that the city was in a state of war readiness, Stan always felt that something was wrong, which was completely different from the atmosphere he had felt in Thun, but he didn't have the leisure to care about it now, and with the soldiers leading him, he hurried towards the castle.

The hall was unexpectedly cold, Dorne's lord Tannar was not here, a bad premonition came over Stan's mind, he lowered his head and whispered, "Something is wrong, Lord Lord should be very anxious at this time, he should have appeared here before us." ”

"I think so too. Nerfi tilted her head as if thinking about something.

"And he's still here, which means he hasn't sent out ...... at all" The sound of footsteps outside the hallway makes Stan quickly shut up.

Slowly walking through the door was Tannar, Lord of Dorne, who looked about the same age as Guntel but was calmer. He was followed by two strong knights, and Tannar walked past Stan and Nerfi and walked straight to the chair in the center of the parlor and sat down. "I already know what happened to Thun, Gunther told me in the letter, and he also mentioned you, Knight Stan and Mage Nerfi. ”

Stan stepped forward and bowed. "Lord Lord, Thun is already in danger, and may even have fallen, and the dark tide has invaded the territory of Cumberland, please send troops to rescue him quickly!"

"Don't worry, Stan. Tanner waved his hand. "If we rush to the rescue, we will only put Dorn in danger, and we need to think long-term. ”

"What!" Stan felt a rush of hot blood rush from his chest to his head. "Since you have received Gunther's letter, why are you still sitting here so peacefully, and you should have received the letter from the scholar, why don't you act?"

Seeing that Stan was so rude, the two knights behind Tanner stepped forward to teach the knight a lesson, but Tanner raised his hand to stop them. "Stan, I can understand your feelings, but if you calm down and think about it, how long can Thun withstand the dark tide? If you add Dorn, how long can you resist it? ”

"Then you can just die like this?" Stan was still thrilled. "Even if you don't come to the rescue, when Thun falls, the Dark Tide will attack Dorne, and Dorne will be left to fight alone. ”

"Nope. "If I were Darktide I wouldn't be coming to Dorne, but going north, and Gaiman would be the next target of Darktide, because that's the way to Canreto, and Dorne is just a corner of Cumberland." ”

Stan was at a loss for words, completely confused by what Tannar was thinking, and Nerfi picked up the conversation. "Do you want Gaiman or even the realms further north to drain the power of the Darktide, and then take advantage of the opportunity to sneak attack?"

Tannar turned to Nerfi with an imperceptible smile on his face. "Perhaps, Dorne alone won't do anything. ”

"Then you should send troops to Gaiman now, instead of waiting here!" Stan almost shouted.

Tannar's patience was almost exhausted, and his voice grew louder. "I'm the lord of Dorne, knight, you don't have the right to order me what to do here, I need to protect Dorne's safety, that's the first priority as a lord, and then go to the aid of other territories, this is the end of our conversation, you can leave Dorne now, or you can rest for a while and then leave, as you like, but I won't see you again, I hope you will do it yourself!"

After saying that, before Stan could continue to attack, Tannar quickly left the parlor, and Stan tried to go up to theorize, but was separated by two knights, and could only stare at Tannar's distant back.

Exhausted by two days of travel, Stan and Nerfi decide to rest for a while and leave for Dorne in the early evening. The two of them took a break in the guest room in the castle, and Tannar's attitude puzzled them.

Stan examines the entire room, finally sticking his ear to the door and listening for a few seconds before shaking his head and walking towards Nerfi. "The lord of Cumberland wouldn't be like that, Tannar must have some secret not told us. ”

Nerfi drank the hot tea brought by the maid. "Will the lords of Cumberland come to the rescue of their allies?"

"Yes, although Cumberland is divided into eight territories, it is still a whole country, and the reason why the power is scattered is to prevent the high lord from taking power alone and leading Cumberland in the wrong direction. Stan finds a chair to sit down, exhaustion bothering him, and he has to hold his head on his hand to keep himself from falling asleep. "Other than that, Cumberland is still very united, and before Sigmund led his troops north to support Doyle, all the other lords sent troops to respond. ”

Nerfi nodded. "Indeed, judging from the fact that all the troops are sent, Dorn should also rescue Thun this time, is it because the troops are all supporting Sigmund, so there are really no extra troops to rescue?"

"No, Dorne is not small, there should still be about two thousand troops, and Dorne borders Macon, and there are still a considerable number of mercenary groups in the territory, these are all forces that can be used. Stan buries his face in the palm of his hand. "It's not this that puzzles me the most, it's Tannar's attitude, even if Dorn really doesn't have troops to send, he should try to negotiate other ideas with us, instead of rejecting us rudely like now, and then even not seeing us again, it's obvious that this is evading!"

"That's right, so what the hell is he running away from?" Nelfi cupped her chin and fell into deep thought, when suddenly something occurred to her. "Stan, if, I mean if, Tannar is no longer what Tannar used to be, then all of this can be explained. ”

"What did you say?" Stan lifted his face from his palm, looking at his companion in confusion. "I don't understand what you mean. ”

Nalfi leaned in close to Stan and lowered his voice. "You should also know that the Lord of Darkness has the ability to enter the minds of men, he can corrupt those who are not strong-willed, so that they can be used for their own purposes, isn't this how the former king of Tempe, Augusta, was controlled by Aloisius? ”

Stan frowned. "But Tannar is the lord of Dorne, and he should have an iron will. ”

"No matter how strong a person is, he will have weaknesses. Nerfi leaned back and leaned back in her chair. "You and I have it, Stan, and luckily the Lord hasn't had his eye on us yet. ”

Stan stared at the ground in thought, and for a moment, he looked up, his bloodshot eyes staring at Nerfi. "Then let's go and find out what Tannar's secrets are. ”