Chapter 3 The Man in Black
There is an ancient castle in Heiqiu Mountain, which is ten miles away from Meiyan City, which is called Dusk Castle, and the history of Dusk Castle is far from Meiyan City. Throughout the ages, the passage of time has changed, prosperity and decline have alternated in cities, different kings have rotated on the throne, and the subjects who have not left their surnames have played a pivotal role in the flood of the times. The castle still stands alone on the top of the mountain, silently observing the changes in the world, even if the towering giant tree grows a cycle, things change and the stars change, and the years go by, I have never seen the castle leave any traces with the changes of the times.
Some believe that the castle is inhabited by a group of magic-wielding sorcerers, apostles of the true God, recording history, singing praises to great men, and traveling to all corners of the world, spreading blessings and spreading faith. It is also believed to be a vast organization with a global presence that travels day and night, performing mysterious missions or rituals, and is fond of hiding their identities and trading with royal power with unfamiliar faces and surnames, including thieves and beggars. If there's a change anywhere, these people are going to be involved. What's more, they think that there is only a group of robbers living in the castle, and they built this castle with the money they robbed, and they are extraordinary, and when the time comes, Meiyan City may become the bag of this castle. Some people swear a curse and plot to put the castle on the monster, while others believe in it, bow down and pray for blessings to avoid calamity.
Many historical books have their own records about this ancient castle that is difficult to distinguish between right and wrong, and the most appropriate and similar statement is that the Dashtur Church in the northern royal city of Haima Town said: The end of the Elven Age, the Sacred Lake Bay is hidden, and darkness has descended from the beginning of the snow-capped mountain. But the darkness cannot resist the light, the god of the true god Panla (the church of Dashtur in the north believes in the true god Panla, they believe that Panla is the only true god, and the door of salvation built by her own hands can dissolve the grievances and sins of the world) The god only expels the darkness from the coldest wilderness in the east, and the man in black carries the will of the true god Panla to fight against the remaining darkness and maintain the fragile balance, and the Dashtur church transmits eternal blessings to the god of Panla.
A number of well-traveled witch doctors, scholars, and well-informed knights believed in the Church of Dastul, for the Dark Ages did exist, and even if the unprecedented great war was forgotten, it was not only a few who sought the truth.
A winding stone staircase is hidden in the slope of the black hill, with the change of time, the four seasons, the stone staircase changes the shape, the old trees with intertwined roots wrestle with each other, completely enveloping the black hill. At the end of the day, the stone staircase once again appeared on the northern slope of the black hill, with sparse shrubs lying on both sides, and it was difficult to make out the weather-beaten stone staircase that led to the main entrance of the castle without careful observation. The higher you climb, the more lush vegetation becomes, and the tall and deep stone walls of the castle are exposed to the top of the hill, creating an extremely open space with a wide view.
At first glance, this is not the work of a craftsman, the stone wall is shaped like a cliff, and it stands here after being cut by a giant axe. The surface of the rock is smooth and shiny, and there is not the slightest crack on it, but you can feel the ancient aura emanating from the stone walls, and mortals will be afraid of such an unprecedented miracle.
Exhausted and uneasy with his steps, Vorragon led his horse up the stone stairs through the dense forests of the Black Hills, and after many twists and turns, he finally came to the stone walls of the castle at dusk. When approaching, a stone door protrudes from under the high wall, and in the center of the stone door is carved a star, and some admirers of the star. The swordsman gently touched his hand to the center of the stone door, which slowly moved backwards and disappeared in front of Voragon . When he and the horse passed through the stone gate, the stone gate reappeared behind him, and there was no trace of the stone wall intact.
Entering the castle is a huge courtyard that is not seen anywhere else, with painted domes, white arches, delicate crystal stone steps, and countless silver columns. The swordsman bolted his horse to the pillar of the side door, and he had no time to dwell on the present, or to enjoy the sight that he had already enjoyed. After settling in, he hurried into the hall in the middle of the courtyard.
Everyone in the hall was gathering around to discuss, noisy voices, you and me, there seemed to be quarrels, "The northern tribes have crossed the Blackwater Reef and pressed in a big way, and many cities along the way have been looted, we can't just watch it!"
"Yes, they must be made to know that the invasion of the south was a mistake.... ”
"It's not a big deal with the Erjing people, hunting down the dead is our top priority!"
"As a man in black, you must not sit idly by, this has touched the balance of the mainland. ”
"That being the case, but now our focus should not be on this," the loud voice suppressed all the quarrels, "the war between the city-states should be resolved by themselves, unless it is a last resort, when the balance of this world is broken, we can only take action, otherwise we can only wait and see what happens, and do what we have to do." The black-cloaked maestro stood up and scanned the crowd, then turned his gaze to Worakon, who had just entered, "There is a riot going on in Meiyan City, and this is directly related to the death that happened in Dragonfly Town a few days ago, Voragon, tell me what you observed." ”
That's right, Woragon is a member of the Men in Black, it's been a day since he rushed back from the hair town, but his expression is still nervous, he took off his hood, a deep scar from the corner of his eye across the bridge of his nose to occupy the entire face, short light gray hair, dark red lips, and a tiny birthmark at the center of his eyebrows, although young, but deep eyes are full of many experiences.
Voragon stepped forward and nodded lightly to everyone present, "Everyone in the town is dead, judging by the corpses, it must not have been caused by man, they were frightened and killed in an instant, and the footprint that crossed the town, the ground was badly damaged, among them were horseshoe prints and wheel prints, and ...... Similar to a chain, or...... I've never seen anything like that. The discussion sounded again, and suddenly there was silence again. "All the life around the town is gone, and I don't mean everything, flowers and plants. What do you think, Maester Peshir?"
The bachelor slowly sat back in his chair, wearing black leather boots with gold trim on his feet, rhythmically lit the marble floor, and pondered for a long time with his chin on his hands. He has short black hair and thick eyebrows that make his face look delicate and grim, he is young, but his every move has long been a testament to his experience.
This is one of the three Guardians, the Master Pesil, who once performed a great feat in the Dark Ages. No one knows his origins, not even the owner of the Pillar of Dawn, the Human Emperor Paradi, who fought alongside him (in the Dark Ages, the three guardians Pesil, Orendine, and Avenhay worked together with the Human Emperor Paradis and the Earth Elves to seal the undead in the Wilderness of Ladoras, the land of the dead), standing here, he did not dare to say what he knew.
His surname and appearance quickly dissipated from everyone's view like a torrent of time, as if providence was destined to hide his identity and the many secrets behind him, and only the members of the castle knew what he was capable of.
Pesil's voice became low and powerful, "This is a bad sign, there has never been such an incident, Voragon, this matter will be handed over to you first, and then you rush to the Black Forest with my message, confirm the matter with the gravekeeper who guards there, and when the meeting is over, you can come to my room first, and I will explain it in detail." Vorragon nodded slightly, and Pesil turned his gaze to the other side, "Say, the situation in the north is serious, you and Ormond go to Giantbridge to observe the movement there, but don't act rashly, unless you have to." ”
"Don't worry, I'll leave the mess in the north!" said Sei in a rough voice.
Sye was fat, the shortest of the men in black, with a fluffy beard that covered his entire chin, and large earlobes with delicate green jade earrings. Ormond, on the other hand, has a burly body and curly brown hair, and usually leads the organization through every difficult task as a leader in the actions of the organization, and always manages to save the day.
"Meiyan City is handled by the organization here, and the organization will investigate the cause of the incident in the town. Pesil said.
"The northern army is huge, and I don't think the Giant Bridge will last more than ten days, so if the war starts early, what should the organization do. Ormond muttered as he leaned against the wall in the corner.
"For the northerners, going to war means losing a lot of power, and maybe negotiating, but it's unlikely, and now the army of the Erkings is not gathering, some of them are in the Blackwater Reef, and the other part is stationed in the area of Seahorse Town. ”
Ormond wore his hood and his face loomed, and he nodded to Master Pessil, "That said, Giantbridge still has time to breathe. According to the organization's investigation, the Horking people are faithless free people, wild people from the Deslan Plateau, they have a brutal temperament, no loyalty to speak of, and they are lazy in their actions, and they are afraid that they will ...... to press the army to the Giant's Bridge in a short time. ”
"Hmph, they're not lazy when they kill people. Cramon added. He was a middle-aged man, swarthy and with his hair falling out, and the people in the group were accustomed to calling him 'Blackclaw' Kramon, just because his palms were not much different from bear paws, perhaps because his complexion was so dark.
"The declining Heerkings. Ormond admitted, "So there must be someone behind them who will lead them, Maester Peshir, who can have Irina go with us to Giantbridge." ”
"Well, the organization will send people to support you. ”
"It doesn't take too much, a few brothers can beat those northerners back. Sei gave a relaxed expression.
"Don't say anything lightly, if you fail, it is not only the organization, but also tens of millions of lives. Pesil glanced at Sei next to him. "Let's put an end to this topic first, and talk about the information sent back by the other members of the organization. ”
"Carole's party passed by the Roof of the Edge yesterday and were heading to Lethe Town, and they didn't find any fleeing undead along the way, according to reliable sources, one of the undead has been hiding from the Order, and if the news is true, they will end the chase in Lethe Town. Ormond said.
"Amber and Edith are also in the depths of the West, and are now heading back to Rotten Wood in a few days, and the rest of the Order is also tracking the undead, and they have been in contact with each other through the Lore Outpost. ”
Baruelin was the longest of the men in black, with long black hair, a delicate face, a slender figure, and a man of few words and deeds, but he was extraordinary, and he was accompanied on a mission by Aishara and the obese Alf. At this moment, the three of them had just returned from the mountains of Solis in the north, and their bodies were exhausted and listless.
"That's good, spread the news, be careful in everything, don't take it lightly, and let Kairol and Amber rush to Rotten Wood Town to provide support, and the other members of the organization will carry out their tasks as usual. Pesil declared, "This meeting will come here first, and if there is anything else, tell me tomorrow morning." ”