The wind from the southwest carried the dampness and saltiness of the North Sea, and with it came the gray cumulonimbus clouds that piled up in the sky. However, this is not a bad thing for the Quaids, as the increasingly turbulent river outside the city allows the longship to sail faster.

The fighting continues in the city-state of Harusa, but the church of the Holy See of Wisdom has been completely breached. The remaining Church soldiers occupied the western part of the city-state and were supported by the neighboring state of Solal, for whom His Holiness the Pontiff sent more troops and knights.

The Harusa nobles finally recaptured the city, though the war had reduced it to ruins, and the confrontation on the muddy plains had hampered the frequent caravans. The Archon, who had been wounded in the attack, had been reawakened by the treatment of the white-robed mages and doctors, and he was not worried about the possibility of another war, and the facts proved his wisdom. The Cheerst alliance could not tolerate the actions of the Holy See, so a Mars army was stationed on the border of Solar, threatening the actions of the mad cultists with war.

The people of Longinus did not care about the negotiation between the Holy See and the nobles of Harusa, and after politely rejecting the retention of some of the councillors, Sir Martin finally set out on his way home with a secret letter from the consul to the Grand Duke of Longinus. It would take them about two weeks to travel down the river in a longship, and then the mercenaries would give birth to Kara, a port north of Dragonus, and spend the remaining weeks traversing the Warlock Realm. Neither the cold winter nor the rainy season is the time for war, so the army of the Kingdom of Harrison should invade when the ground is muddy and dry.

The ease of transportation led to a thriving caravan and fishing industry in Harusa, and the Dragoninus easily found a convoy of transports. More than a dozen longships were able to carry all the intact Quaids with them while they were loaded with cargo, and the wounded were supposed to stay in the city, but Riga insisted on taking them. The damp city was filled with water leaking everywhere, even causing some of the warriors' wounds to begin to suppurate and rot.

Placing a chest containing a suit of chain mail and a change of clothes on horseback, Riga and the centurion made their way to the port east of the city. Some of the Quaids had already boarded the longship and were now noisily carrying their luggage to comfort the horses. The wooden boats looked dilapidated, and the long pine woods that should have been yellowish were now rotting and browning.

"I doubt they'll fall apart on the water, these old guys look like they should be sent to the fire. Tapping his hand on the pine mast of the longship, the hunter asked with a dull mouth. But before the centurion could open his mouth, the sailor, who was arranging the saillocks, expressed his displeasure.

"'Old Sirger' can float on the water for at least twenty more winters, and there is no wind or waves in this river, and the only thing we have to pay attention to is the reef that looms beneath the surface. Those who lurk in the water like insidious vipers can shatter a large ship in an instant. ”

"I'm sorry, Officer. This kid has only been a sailor for a year, so he is always as reckless as a bull when he talks. Without letting the sailor continue to chatter, a middle-aged man in a short shirt but with a fur cloak approached. He had a beard that appealed to the Quaids, and it hung down in pigtails like a hanged black bug.

"I am the captain of this 'old sir' and the commander of the caravan. Everyone calls me Blind Luke. The stranger politely introduced himself after lifting the round hat sewn from two pieces of cowhide. "These ships will be as safe as land, unless someone sends us to the North Sea, where even the giants will flee from the storms. ”

"Captain Luke is not blind, but he has sailed the entire channel blindfolded. The sailor couldn't help but interject triumphantly.

"Have you sailed in the North Sea?" even the centurion thought it was incredible. "It is said that thousands of large ships are lost there every year. ”

"It is the place of trial of the sea god, and only the warrior who conquers the strongest wind and waves will be qualified to sail there. Old Luke reluctantly touched the curved bow of the longship, where a row of iron nails held it to the ends of the keel. "I also had a big ship made of the finest oak, but then it fell apart in the wind and waves, and I was the only one who survived. ”

"I'm sorry to remind you of this, but we'd better send a boat as soon as possible. When I arrive in Karasan, I invite everyone to drink the best ale of Longinus. The centurion pulled his leather gloves off and jumped into the longboat. His luggage and horses had already been picked up by sailors. "I was a regular customer of the ambergris house, and I used to drink there when I was serving in the Northern Corps. Until now, I still remember the **** and big white ** of that boss lady. ”

A group of sailors immediately let out a rude, narrow chuckle, and then they worked harder to carry their luggage onto the longship. Because the cargo hold was almost full, the wooden boxes in which the Quaid people held their luggage became their own seats. The horses were driven to two other empty boats and the exits were covered with a fishing net, which was the only way to keep the able-bodied animals honest.

The nobles of Harusa were very concerned about the letter carried by the Dragoninus, so the consul sent two councillors to see them off. Since the Speaker was charred in the attack, the power of the opposition in the House has become weaker and weaker, and now it is up to the fat rulers to decide the decrees of the city-states.

Amid the heartfelt smiles and cheers of a group of Harusa nobles and ** people (they had long wanted to drive away the barbarians), the ship on which the Quaid people were riding finally slowly drifted ashore. When the sailors shook the oak oars to bring the longboats to the center of the river, a loud and shrill cry was immediately heard from each boat. With a low, mighty shout, the sail made of thin animal skins was raised by the sailors, and then the helmsman tilted the tail rotor to make the longship turn easily on the river.

Seeing the procession of longships getting farther and farther away, the Harusas, who had been seeing off on the harbor, immediately dispersed and went back to continue their work, but in a hidden corner, there were three figures of different heights watching quietly. Until the short man in the gray cloak opened his mouth, "Why don't we leave together?

"We also seek revenge on the church, and I will not set foot on the longship to the south unless the flame of hatred is extinguished in my heart. Another, slightly taller, skinny stranger said in the same language after wrapping his cloak.

When the ** people on the dock had left, the three men left the crooked street in stealthily, and only cautiously lifted their hoods when they entered the city and arrived at a dilapidated house. The skinny stranger immediately sat down on the wooden bench as soon as his face was exposed, shaking his head after taking a hard breath of humid air. The long silver hair, which was completely wet in the air, immediately shook with it, shaking off a string of crystal clear water droplets.

"It's really bad weather, it's going to rain again outside. The stranger shook his ears a little mischievously, and opened his mouth after shaking the droplets away. "The room had started leaking, the clothes and food had started to mold, and we were soon hungry and sick**. ”

"Seradiel, I think you should be able to pretend to be a Terran to buy something. Of course, it's best to find out the whereabouts of the damned priests. The shortest of the creature had his hood off as well, but his dark gray curls were almost soaked with water droplets, and he was so damp that he could pinch out strings of muddy water.

"I knew you had such a bad idea, Curly Horn. Why don't you use the Song of [***] to get them to offer food?" the half-elf said with a low chuckle in dwarven language.

"I want to use it too. But if the poetry fails and the Harusa people find out that I am a half-sheep man with dirty wool, they will tear me to pieces and make a fine blanket out of the fur. Curly replied in a very helpless tone. "Before I left the tribe, I didn't have the means to ensure successful chanting. ”

"Those abominable priests, they will be cursed by the god of the earth, Gerius. At this moment, an even stranger creature stepped out of the innermost part of the room. He has the body of a war horse and four muscular hooves, but the horse's neck is replaced by a Terran upper body. His muscular muscles, comparable to those of the Quaids, were bare in the humid air, except for shoulder pads made of cowhide on his shoulders.

"Oris, you should lie down and rest. When the half-elf saw the weak centaur, he immediately stood up and supported him. "Illness is your worst enemy. A caring look radiated from the black eyes of the half-sheep, and the guy found a clean rag and wiped the centaur's forehead.

"When Oris recovers, I will kill all the priests of the Holy See of Wisdom!" He had a muscular body, but he had a bull's head and two thick horns that bent and pointed diagonally upward. And now the bull head was swinging the tomahawk in his hand with great enthusiasm, and the heat from his nose made the dark yellow round copper nose ring shake.

"Shut up, Goode. You reckless fellow. The half-elf immediately scolded the minotaur, and only explained when he sat back on his stool with some staggering. "We just need to kill that deputy priest, or you won't be spared from the Holy See army, even if you're a demonic beast. ”

"I'm not going to care about that. Scratching his nose a little embarrassed, Goode the Minotaur held the tomahawk in his arms and said again. "When the time comes, I'll just charge after you. (To be continued.) )