Calamon nodded, and the two waited quietly in the cold wind. Stone saw Scarlet Moon looking at the river breeze admiringly, but he didn't seem to appreciate it. Wade moved uneasily in his position, and was about to ask some questions, but was stopped by the knight's stern gaze. Rodrith shivered and tried to suppress a fierce cough.

"I'm going to help. Stone finally spoke. "The whistle is getting closer, and it's dangerous for us to wait any longer. But just then, he saw Robert shake hands with the dwarf, and ran to the boat by himself. Hubble continued to stay at the edge of the woods. Stone shook his head, "I told you the dwarves weren't coming. ”

"There's a good saying: 'Stubbornness like a dwarf'. Calamon muttered. "And this guy has a full hundred and forty-eight years to become more stubborn. The big man shook his head sadly. "I'm going to miss him a lot. He saved my life more than once and told me to go to him! punch him in the jaw to make sure he couldn't tell if he was on the boat or in his own bed. ”

Robert ran up gasping for breath, just in time to hear the last sentence. "Don't do that, Calamon," he said, "Hubble won't forgive us for doing this. Don't worry, he's going to hide in the mountains. Get on board, the fire is concentrated in this direction, and we have left footprints in the woods that even the dumbest dwarves of the valley can see. ”

"There's no need to get everybody soaked. Calamon said, holding on to the side of the boat with one hand. "You and Stone get on the boat first, and I'll be responsible for pushing the boat away. ”

Stone jumped in, and Robert patted Calamon on the back and climbed into the boat as well. The fighters began to push the boat into the lake, and when the water was knee-deep, a shout came from the shore.

"Wait!" was Hubble's voice, and a vague figure was running along the edge of the woods. "Wait a minute!

"Stop!" shouted Robert. "Karamon! Wait for Hubble!"

"Look!" Stone stood up, facing the woods. Fires began to emerge from the woods, and goblin guards were rushing out with smoking torches.

"Hubble, there's a goblin!" called Robert, "behind you!" the old dwarf ran to the shore without looking back, pressing his helmet with one hand lest it fall.

"I'll cover him!" Robert took the bow off his shoulder, and with his elven vision, he was the only one who could clearly distinguish the enemy's position in the light of a torch.

He put the arrow on the bowstring, Calamon steadied the ship, and Robert got up and aimed at the vague figure of the goblin leading the group, and fired an arrow.

Hit the goblin's chest, and the goblin fell straight down. The other goblins slowed down and began to draw their bows and arrows. When Robert's arrow hit the bowstring again, Hubble had run to the shore.

"Wait! I'm coming!" the dwarf suddenly sank into the water like a stone. "Catch him!" shouted Stone, "Wade, paddle back! Over there, see? those bubble ......" Callamon's hands churned wildly in the water, looking for signs of the dwarves.

Wade tried to row the boat back to shore, but the weight of the boat far exceeded his load. Robert missed the target this time, gasping for breath and cursing, and then pulled out another arrow. Goblins began to swarm towards the lake.

"I've found him!" Calamon grabbed the dwarf by his belt and lifted him up dripping from his body. "Don't move!" he said to Hubble, who was frantically waving his limbs. But the dwarf had completely lost his mind, and it happened that another arrow hit Calamon's chain mail, stuck there like a feather.

"I've had enough!" shouted Calamon, his muscular arm swinging and throwing the dwarf onto the ship that was getting farther and farther away. Hubble grabbed the side of the ship, but his lower body hung overboard, and Stone pulled him on his belt to lift him onto the ship, which shook violently.

Robert was almost unsteady on his feet, and was forced to lose his bow and cling to the side of the boat to avoid falling into the lake. An arrow from a goblin enters the ship, nearly piercing Robert's hand.

"Wade, row back to Calamon!" Robert shouted.

"I can't help it!" replied the scrambled Kande. A swinging penny almost hit Stone.

The knight hurriedly lifted the Kander away from his original position, grabbed the penny, and smoothly propped the boat back to a position where Calamon could get on board.

Robert grabbed the warrior and turned back to Stone and shouted, "Get out of here!" The knight thrust the penny into the water, and the ship broke away from the shore like an arrow, and the goblin shouted angrily. The arrows landed around the ship, and Calamon sat beside Robert dripping water.

"Tonight is goblin contact time," Calamon said faintly, pulling arrows from the chain mail. "We look too obvious on the lake!"

Robert fumbled with his bow and arrow, only to see Rodrith sit up. "Keep your head down!" Robert warned, and Calamon began to pounce on his brother as well. But the mage glared at them angrily, and reached into the bag around his waist.

His dexterous hand pulled out something, and just as an arrow flew by him, but Rodrius did not react. Robert began to pounce on him, and immediately saw that he had fallen into a trance. If you disturb him at this time, it will only bring terrible consequences.

The caster forgets about the spell forever, or worse: the spell has an unpredictable reaction.

Robert gritted his teeth and looked at Rodrith, who raised his withered arm and let the spell material from his waist pouch slowly fall from between his fingers to the bottom of the ship. Only then did Robert realize that the mysterious material was sand.

"Raz-Serrak-Sinola-Clanawi," Rodrith muttered, and then he drew an equal arc with his right hand toward the shore. Robert looked back to the shore, and one by one the goblins lowered their bows and fell, as if Rodrith had touched them with his own hands, and the rain of arrows stopped.

Standing farther away, unaffected goblins frantically flocked to the shore. By this time, Stone had taken the entire ship out of range.

"Little Lei, well done!" Calamon said sincerely. Rodrith blinked, consciousness finally returned to reality, and then collapsed. Calamon held him up and hugged him for a while. Soon Rodrith sat up, took a deep breath, and coughed again.

"I'm fine. He whispered, breaking free from Calamon's embrace.

"What did you do to them?" asked Robert, picking up the arrows that had fallen on the boat and throwing them into the lake. Sometimes goblins quench poison on arrowheads, and it is dangerous to leave them on board.

"I put them all to sleep. Rodrith shivered, squeezing his reply through his teeth. "I have to rest now. He lay down against the wall of the boat.

Robert looked at the young mage, and Rodrith had indeed improved a lot in his skills and abilities. I wish I could trust him, the half-elf thought.

The boat slowly glided across the star-studded lake, and in the silence of the boat's penny hitting the water, and the sound of Rodrith coughing. Wade took out the sac that Hubble had been carrying after a moment of panic, and tried to get the drenched dwarf to take a sip, but Hubble cowered in the corner of the boat, staring at the water in a daze.

Scarlet Moon hugged her fur tighter. She wore the moerskin coat and trousers that her people often wear, and her shoes were made of the same soft leather. When Calamon threw Hubble aboard the boat, the water splashed her clothes and the deerskin was wet and clinging to her. Soon she began to tremble.

"Put on my coat. River Breeze said in their language. And take off his bearskin cloak.

"Don't," she shook her head. "Your fever hasn't gone away, and you know that I've never been sick, but ......" she looked up at him, with a smile on the corner of her mouth: "You can hold me, the body temperature of the two of us can get us through this cold night." ”

"Chief's daughter, is this an order from a superior to a subordinate?" River Wind deliberately teased her while hugging her tighter.

"Yes. She leaned against his strong body and let out a sigh of satisfaction. She looked up at the starry sky, and suddenly held her breath and her body stiffened.

"What's wrong?" asked River Breeze as he looked up.

The others on the boat, though unaware of what they were saying, could see that they were attracted to something in the night sky.

Calamon poked his brother, "Little Lei, what's wrong? I didn't see anything!"

Rodrith straightened up. He took off his hood and coughed violently, and after this cough, he began to look at the night sky. Suddenly, his eyes widened, as if he had seen something unusual. He stretched out his bony arm and grasped Robert's hand until he was forced to turn back and try to break free. "Robert ......," said Rodrith hoarsely, as if he was about to stop breathing. "Constellation ......"

"What?" said Robert, startled by his pale golden skin and scorching strange eyes. "What's wrong with the constellation?"

"It's gone!" said Rodrith, who barely managed to squeeze out a word, coughed more violently, and Calamon hugged him tightly as if he was afraid that he would disperse. Rodrith finally regained his breath and wiped the corners of his mouth with his hand. Robert saw that his hands were covered in dark red blood. Rodris took a deep breath and spoke.

"The two constellations that we call the Dark Aftermath and the Valiant Warrior are gone. She's come to Candela, and he's here to stop her. All the rumors of evil that we have heard are about to come true. War... Death... Destruction—" His words were interrupted by a flurry of coughs.

Calamon grabbed him, "Rodres, don't do this. He said comfortingly, "Why be nervous about a few stars!"

"It's just a few stars...... Robert repeated sluggishly. Stone propped up the penny and sailed to the other side.

Nurintari and Sorinari: These are the two moons visible to the naked eye in Candela's sky.

The red Nurintari is the patron saint of the red-robed lawmakers, giving them power.

The white Sorinari is the mentor of the white-robed good mage, who protects them in their path of goodness.

Ancient legends say that when the War of All Saints was about to begin, Thorinari, Nuritari and Nuitari were three different gods, who foresaw the war that would divide the gods.

Driven by their shared love of magic, they decided to avoid the scourge of the war and leave the skies where the gods dwell, in favor of staying closer to Candela. Each of the three gods chose their favorite students and taught them the power of magic, and the mage profession was born.

To this day, the three gods still appear in the night sky every once in a while, giving power to the mages they guard.

Elven Eyesight - This is a gift given to the elves by the gods of Candela, in addition to their better eyesight than other races, they also have the ability to see at night, which makes them the most deadly archers in Candela.

The magic that Rhodelis casts is "Sleep", which causes a considerable number of creatures (the lower the creature, the more) to be put unconscious.

These creatures only wake up when they are injured, and the normal noise does not affect them in any way. This spell requires a pinch of sand, rose petals, or a live cricket.

——

A cold wind swept across the lake. Dark clouds drifted from the north, obscuring the void left by the stars sinking in the west. Everyone bent over and hid in the boat, pulling their cloaks tighter and letting the heavy raindrops fall. Calamon joins the brace, and he tries to speak to Stone, but the knight ignores him. He remained silent, occasionally speaking to himself in the Qurandaan.

"Stone!over there!, in the middle of the big rock on the left-hand side!" exclaimed Robert as he pointed in that direction.

Stone and Calamon held on harder, the rain making it more difficult to discern the signs on the shore, and for a moment they thought they were heading into the endless darkness. But the boulders appeared, and Stone and Callamon approached the shore.

Robert jumped into the water and pulled the boat closer to shore. The rain was pouring down, and everyone was wet and cold. They were stiff and frightened as if they were hugging Hubble, and the river breeze and Calamon hid the boat in the bushes on the shore. Robert led the group along the gravel road to an opening in the cliff.

Scarlet Moon looked at the opening suspiciously, on the surface, it seemed to be just a small opening in the cliff, but the space inside was large enough for them to stretch their limbs comfortably.

"What a home!" Wade said, looking around. "It's just not any furniture. ”

Robert smiled at the Khand, "I think it would be nice to spend the night here, even the dwarves have no reason to complain." If he dares, I will tell him to go back to the boat and sleep. ”

Wade smiled as well, and it was nice to see Robert return to his original optimism. He always felt that his friend had been preoccupied and indecisive for a few days—at least not as decisive as before.

Thankfully, after they set out on their escape, that light returned to the half-elves' eyes. He's got out of the doldrums and he's starting to take control of the big picture as before. He needed this adventure to help him forget his troubles, whatever they were.

The Kande, though he had never been able to understand Robert's inner struggle, had enjoyed the adventure.