Chapter 39: The Stone Castle

My head started to hurt

Especially when I saw the soldiers with bows and crossbows, my heart felt as if something was pinching it, and I felt my heart beating wildly, and I wondered if we were going to move away from the horses under the rain of arrows and attack the stone fort

The soldiers on it wore helmets that looked like saucers, standing behind the battlements and staring at us, the Wiki Eagle Banner fluttering above their heads, the streamers flying like flowing clouds, the men looking nervous, they couldn't stop shouting words to each other, and I saw some turbaned servants running back and forth on the stone fort with barrels full of arrows

The stone fort blocked the avenue in the air, two gates blocked the road, and three horse rejections were placed in front of the road, which was the only way up the mountain

One of our knights, Taivi, held the banner and handed his sword to the shì servant beside him in front of the soldiers of the stone castle, and then calmly walked to the bottom of the stone castle, and when the soldiers saw that we had sent negotiators, they all put away their weapons and waited for the knight's next move

"Who are you?" One of the Stone Fort officers yelled at us, "What do you want to do here? ”

"Your Excellency," the knight exposed his chest to the range of the crossbow and looked up at the officer above, "I am a knight from the Romanov family"

"Who do you care?" The officer spat down, "No one is allowed to pass through us today, and we have received an order from the carrier pigeons under the mountain: block the mountain pass, and you all go back."

"But we have already gone up the mountain, and all of our people are now on the mountain, if we go down the mountain, we will not be able to find a place to camp, Your Excellency, and we have a pass issued by the king, and you will not refuse the king's order, right?" The knight raised the pass in his hand

The officer exchanged a few words with one of his retinues, then waved his hand and summoned a servant

The servant hung down a basket, and the officer shouted: "Put the order in the basket, I want to check"

The knight must have been authorized, "It's your right, my lord"

Shì took the pass from the knight's hand and placed it in the basket underneath the pass, and obediently put a leather bag full of money and two jugs of spirits

When the officer saw the basket, he added his lips and carefully read the king's statement that the officials must have seen the ruse in the basket, but he did not refuse, and it was a good start

"I said," the officer's tone was noticeably kinder, "you have a pass, and what are you bringing so many people for, it makes me break out in a cold sweat."

"If there are not many of us, how can you come out to meet us? We can't afford to delay, my lord, we have to go to the Green Crown Mill on the mountain in the evening, what is going on? The knight turned his head and pressed his hand on us to lay down his sword, and we breathed a sigh of relief, and the soldiers on the sheath stone castle exchanged their swords with each other, and stood up straight, looking at us curiously

The tense standoff is over

"There is indeed something" the officer nodded, it seemed that this matter was not classified, he told us directly, "the patrol sent carrier pigeons, there is an orchard at the bottom of the mountain that has been robbed, the patrol is worried that it is the robbers who have robbed the plain in groups, so let's block the mountain pass, there will be bandits when the grain is harvested every year, you have not met any suspicious people when you go up the mountain?" ”

"Your Excellency," said the knight with a smile, "I think our group is the most suspicious."

The knight was telling the truth, but the officer laughed, and told us that he was going back to ask his commander for instructions, and that we should step back ourselves, and the knight led us back slowly, and with a creaky sound, the officer arranged for more than a dozen servants to push the winch and lift the two gates

An officer came out with a probe in his head, and he looked around at us, "Which of you is the leader?" ”

The knight's shì dismounted, led the knight's horse to the judge, and then helped him out of the horse, and the knight gave him a slight salute, and then handed him the document in his hand and asked him to sign his name

The knight shook his head, "There's no hurry about this, I'm just in charge of the fact that there are a lot of people behind this group of guys, and I'll sign the clearance record when they come up."

The clerk thought for a moment, smiled and nodded, "As you wish, may I ask how many people are still in your team?" We've received a note from the Romanovs before, but you see, it's routine and we have to keep a strict count of how many people pass through the checkpoint each year, and if I can now, I can get all the documents written in half an hour, and when the convoy passes by, I can clear the level as soon as possible."

"Hehe, you are so generous," the knight looked back lazily at the rider who came with him, "No, you see we don't have many people, there are still hundreds of people down the mountain, but almost all of them who can ride horses are in front of you"

"What about the Earl? And his family is okay? The clerk asked, intentionally or unintentionally, "Will you come up later?" ”

"Of course"

"Okay, then," said the clerk, as he quickly recorded the information in one of his hands, "Mr. Knight, I will prepare the clearance file for you, you and your people can go to rest in the stone fort, our soldiers will be responsible for moving these rejected horses, you don't have to toss again, you can send someone to inform the Count that the guard has been lifted"

I looked up and saw that the black smoke had dimmed

The knight thanked him, then waved his hand, and we began to walk towards the stone castle, and at that moment, I suddenly saw the knight's brow furrowed, and he looked up at the stone castle

I followed the knight's gaze and looked at the crossbowmen above our heads, looking at us with gloomy faces, although they had laid down their weapons, but they did not lift their guard posture, and the officer stood on the top of the stone fort, looking at us intentionally or not, and joked loudly with his men

All that was around the fort was the sound of us riding into the fort and the laughter of the officers, and everything else was eerily quiet: it was the silence of the soldiers, the silence of murderous intent

The officer smiled nonchalantly, and I saw a flash of annoyance on the knight's face, but it quickly dissipated Alexei kept me paying attention to the expressions of others, and this time I was convinced that I had caught the expression of being ignored, and I became uneasy, what was so strange in this stone castle?

"Your Excellency Knight? Your Excellency the Knight? The scribe called, and he stretched out, "Your men have all entered the stone fort, can you also move in?" ”

The knight's face became a little gloomy, but he smiled instantly, "Yes, but you see, you said, I have to send someone down to inform the Count that they are coming."

The scribe walked up to the knight, "This is natural," the clerk looked at us riders who were walking towards the stone fort, and then I was the oldest, "Let this boy in, I think he should be able to do this"

The riders around me looked at me curiously, and as they continued to enter the castle on their own, the knights' faces turned gray and dark, and they barely managed to squeeze out a wry smile

No, there must be something

The knight looked at me with complicated eyes, "Victor"

"My lord," I walked over with a clamp of my leg

"Go and tell Lord Alexei's father that you can come up, it's safe up there, and we can eat the welcome roast goose here"

The clerk frowned when he heard this, "Your Excellency, what are you talking about?" The scribe looked at me, and I tried to put on a sluggish expression, and the clerk took the reins of the knight, and then said to me with a smile, "Tell your lordship, the earl, come up quickly, we do have roast goose to entertain him."

The knight regained his smile, he gave me a meaningful look, and then smiled calmly and let the scribe lead him into the stone fort, and the soldiers on the stone fort looked at me in silence, and their eyes made my hair stand on end

I turned around and ran down the mountain, this time something big happened, and I knew that Alexei's father had long since died

Soon after, I stammered and repeated the events of the hill in front of the Count, and the camp was only me, Yuri, Alexei, and the Count

The Count stared at me, and after I had finished speaking, he asked Alexei, "This is the one you brought back?" I remember he's in the stables now, right? ”

"Yes"

The Earl nodded, then turned to me and asked, "Say it again, don't miss a word and say whatever you see, not too many words, not too few words."

"Yes, my lord," I took a breath, "after we went up the mountain, the knight asked why we blocked the entrance, and the officer said that the robbers came down from the mountain, and we showed him the clearance order, and then he seemed to suddenly change as a person, and he became very enthusiastic about us, but the soldiers around me kept staring at us, and I was panicked, and the clerk also looked like he was hurrying to let us clear, and I thought it was strange Finally, the clerk probably looked at me and sent me down."

"Tyvi is a fool" Yuri shook his head, "I said that the Rhodocs are unreliable"

"It can't be said that," said Alexei, "that he hasn't done anything wrong in all these years of defecting to our family"

"Yes, if there's a mistake, you'll be cheated by everyone, won't you?"

"Alright," the Count told the two of them to shut up, "did Tyvi really say let 'Lord Alexei's father' go up?" ”

"It's true," I nodded, "I swear, my lord"

The Count pinched his chin and turned away, he was dressed in dark leather armor lined with iron plates, and when the sword hung from his waist, he looked lean and powerful

"Alexey, go and tell everyone that the alarm has been lifted, everyone will leave for the mountains, and let that Tom lead the peasants in front and sing"

"Your Excellency?"

"Go," the count glanced back at Alexei, "the bigger the movement, the better, do you want me to say it twice?" ”

"Yes, my lord," Alexei withdrew

"Yuri, go find Christopher," the Count said coldly

Yuri smiled wickedly and followed Alexei

After they had gone, I suddenly found that I had been alone with the Earl, and he was silent for a moment, and only when the convoy outside was coaxing forward, did he remember that I was here, and his gaze swept over, and I was again as if I had seen through everything, as I had done last time

"Victor?" His brow furrowed like dead wood

"My lord" I don't have enough confidence

The Count smiled, not so much as laughing, but the corners of his mouth twitched, "Well done"