Robert gasped deeply. The night seems to be very quiet. They fled Curry in a panic without encountering any dragonmen or goblins.

As Rodrith said, the dragonmen attacked the tribe not to deploy war, but simply to find the Crystal Staff. They had already retreated in full force as soon as they missed. The deadline that the King of the Forest said had not yet arrived, Robert speculated. Arrived in Shaq Sharos in two days, and now one day has passed.

The half-elf trembled and walked to the river wind. "Do you know how long we're going in that direction?"

"Yes," River Breeze nodded, rubbing his reddened eyes. "We went northeast, towards Shinkai. It is the seat of the legendary Shaq Sharos. I've never been there—" He frowned and shook his head.

"Can we get there tomorrow?" asked Robert.

"Shinkai is said to be two days away from Quesu. The barbarian sighed. "If Shaq Sharos really exists, we should be able to arrive within a day. Although I heard that the road from here to Shinkai is full of swamps. Very difficult to walk. ”

He closed his eyes and stroked Scarlet Moon's hair absentmindedly. Robert quieted down, hoping that the Plainsman would get some sleep. The half-elf sat quietly under a tree, looking at the night sky. He figured that as soon as it was dawn, he would have to ask Wade if he had a map of the place.

The Kanders did have a map, but it didn't help much, as it was an antiquity before the Cataclysm. There is no new sea on the map, as it was formed by the infusion of sea water from the Tepides Ocean after the earth was torn apart. But the map still shows Shaq Sharos, and it's not very far from Dongxian Road. If the road is not too difficult, it can be reached in the afternoon.

The group ate a sullen breakfast and swallowed the food without an appetite. Rodrith was boiling a foul-smelling potion over the campfire, his strange eyes looking at Crimson Moon's crystal staff.

"Now it's becoming invaluable. He said softly. "It became a gift in exchange for the blood of innocents. ”

"Is it worth it? is it worth the blood of my people?" asked Crimson, staring blankly at the inconspicuous brown cane in her hand. She looked much older overnight, with gray bags under her eyes.

No one answered the question, and everyone looked awkwardly elsewhere. River Breeze suddenly stood up and walked alone into the forest. Scarlet Moon looked up at him, then buried her head in her hands and began to cry. "He felt it was all his fault. She shook her head. "I wasn't able to help, it's not his fault. ”

"It's not anyone's fault," Robert walked slowly towards her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, gently kneading the tense muscles in her shoulder. "We can't understand it. So we just keep moving forward and hope to find the answer in Shaq Sharos. ”

She nodded and wiped away her tears. She took a deep breath and wiped her snot with the handkerchief Wade handed her.

"You're right. She said, swallowing. "My father would be ashamed of me. I must remember - I am the daughter of the chief. ”

"No," the river breeze whispered from the forest behind her. "You are the chief. ”

Scarlet Moon was taken aback, and she struggled to her feet, staring at the river breeze. "Maybe I am," she said, "but it doesn't make any sense, our whole clan has—"

"I see footprints," River Breeze replied. "Some people still escaped, maybe they hid in the mountains. They'll come back, and you're their leader. ”

"Our people...... It's alive!" Scarlet Moon's face sparkled.

"There aren't many people alive, maybe there's not one left at the moment. It depends on whether the dragonmen go into the mountains with them. The river breeze shrugged. "But you're still the only leader. His voice began to carry sadness—"I will be the chief's husband." ”

Scarlet Moon flinched, as if she had been slapped in the face. She blinked and shook her head. "No, river breeze," she said softly, "I...... We've discussed before—"

"Do we have it?" he interrupted. "I was thinking about it last night. I've been away for so many years, and I've always simply thought of you as my woman - I forgot ......" he swallowed and took a deep breath. "I left Crimson Moon and came back only to see the chief's daughter. ”

"What choice do I have?" Crimson cried out in exasperation. "My father is not in good health, and I have to rule the whole tribe, or the tribe will fall under the control of the elders. Do you know what it's like to be a chief's daughter?

Every day, we work hard to dig up the source of wealth and deposit it in the treasury, so that the warriors can receive the money and not give the elders any chance to control it!

At all times I was the daughter of a chieftain, and my father would only drool and mumble. She couldn't stop crying.

River Breeze listened, expressionless on his face. He looked at the sky, "We should go," he said coldly. "It's going to be dawn. ”

The group had only walked a few miles on the old road before finding themselves in a swamp. They found that the ground was getting softer and softer, and the tall, dense coniferous forests were beginning to disappear in favor of twisted and deformed plants. A fog obscured the sunlight, and the air became foul-smelling.

Rodrith began to cough and was forced to cover his mouth and nose with a handkerchief. They always walked on the broken stone path, avoiding stepping on the soft swamp next to them.

Hubble had been walking ahead of the Khandians when suddenly he yelled and disappeared into the mud. They could only see his head.

"Help! the dwarf has fallen!" Wade shouted, and the others hurried to help.

"It's pulling me deeper and deeper!" Hubble struggled desperately through the slippery mud.

"Hold on," Rodris warned. "You've fallen into a death trap, don't go down to save him!" he warned Stone as he was going. "You're both going to die, bring me a branch. ”

Calamon grabbed a small tree by the side of the road, took a deep breath, blushed and began to exert himself.

They could clearly hear the sound of the big man uprooting the tree. The river wind stretched the branches flat, hoping to touch the dwarves. Hubble almost sank his nose into the mud before finally succeeding in grasping the branch.

The warrior pulled the entire tree out of the mud along with the dwarf.

"Robert!" the Kanderman grabbed the half-elf and pointed in the direction. A snake, as thick as Calamon's arm, burrowed into the place where Hubble had just been trapped.

"There's no way we can get through here!" Robert said, pointing to the swamp. "Maybe we should go back. ”

"There's no time. Rodrith hissed, hourglass pupils shining.

"There's no other way. The Plainsman said in distress. "I can't remember when, but I've been here before. I know the way through the swamp, it leads—" He licked his lips.

"To a city overrun by evil?" said Robert, solemnly.

"Shaq Sharos!" Rodlis hissed.

"Of course," Robert said softly. That makes sense. Where else can we go to find the answer but where you found the crystal staff?"

"We must get out of here!" said Rodlis firmly. "We've got to get over there at midnight tonight. ”