The two of them stopped their horses in front of the door and jumped down with a flick of their cloaks. It doesn't feel good to put your feet in the mud, but you can still feel that there should be a stone paved road underneath the mud. Siegel turned on his vision, and there was not a trace of magic fluctuations around him, were all these amulets deceitful?With this question, he grabbed the hidden wooden door.

Because the door frame was in disrepair and had long since been separated from the wall, one corner of the wooden door was sunk into the mud when it was opened, and it had to be lifted up. Inside the humble hut was a very simple room, with a mat woven of reeds on the floor, a long broken table, three chairs, and a futon on the floor. In one corner of the room was a rusty iron stove, and an old woman with gray hair was boiling water in a kettle. She was already hunched, her legs were bent inward, and her body was very inflexible. She coughed loudly, waved her dry hand, and said in a phlegm-filled tone, "Come on, come on, wipe your feet, and then come in and sit down." ”

There are no emblems, nothing related to religion or gods, and no spell materials, but there is an iron cage with a monkey in the corner. The monkey is looking around with its smart eyes, and it seems that it can see human emotions in it. Other than that, Siegel saw only a few simple alchemical utensils - although disguised as ordinary pots and pans, they were all made of special materials, and Siegel would not be mistaken.

"The Ghost Swamp is full of ghosts, and if you enter, you will be in danger. The old woman poured hot tea on the two of them with a trembling hand and handed it over. "Drink some, it's sweet reed root, it's delicious. ”

Siegel is not afraid of toxins. He can turn into a skeleton state at any time to avoid this type of damage. But he glanced at it. Indeed, there are reed roots in the water. The white, white, yellow and yellow look very good, exuding a bitter fragrance. Siegel took a bite and set it aside.

"Old man, we came to you for the amulet. Siegel said, "It seems that with this, I can go to see the lord." ”

"Oh, amulet, who isn't here for this?" said the old woman, bringing her chair. Sitting across from Siegel, he said, "Come, show me your hand." ”

Siegel did what he said. The old woman slid her rough knuckles over his palms, looking back and forth over the backs of his palms. "You've had a peculiar experience, you've done hard labor and held a sword, and now you're living a good life, huh?"

Then she looked at Moore's palm prints again, "A good lad, he looks hard, not bad." ”

She sniffed the two of them again. nodded, and only then took out two talismans from his pocket: "Ten gold coins each". She said.

"It's so expensive. "There are a lot of people out there who wear amulets, and it can't be this price, and not everyone can afford to pay ten gold coins." ”

"But you can afford it! I'm not blind or deaf, I can know if you're a bad person, and I can know how much money you have. The old woman handed over the amulet. "Besides, it will protect you from the threat of evil spirits, otherwise you would not be able to move an inch here. ”

Thinking of the hostile gaze outside, and thinking of another leader to see, Siegel had to obediently pay for it and take the talisman. There were no magic fluctuations on it, it was more like some kind of totemic token: "Old man, what are you talking about evil ghosts?"

"There are man-eating monsters in the Ghost Mist Swamp, and then they put on human skins and pretend to be normal people, trying to blend in. Many caravans were attacked, and most of them did not buy amulets. Here it is very dangerous to leave the road, and you must not go in, and those who do not have an amulet cannot be trusted, so be careful. ”

"After the ghost fog swamp is shrouded, are the original inhabitants of the wasteland in danger?"

"Your Excellency is very merciful and allows everyone to live around the castle, it is safe here. The old lady smiled, and only the last tooth in her mouth was still stubbornly holding on.

"It's all withdrawn, what are you eating? I don't know if the mushrooms you grow now are enough to eat, I heard that there is a big mushroom that even mages like to eat, but I can't remember what the name is, is there still one?"

"We are very fortunate that it doesn't take much land to grow mushrooms, so it is no problem to concentrate in the castle. The mushroom you're talking about is called a red wheat mushroom, and it tastes like bread, so you can eat it when you see the lord. ”

"Thank you, we take our leave. ”

Siegel and Moore left the hut and hung the amulet on their chests. The gaze around him softened a lot, and it was no longer the cold, cautious, and hostile one.

The guards also breathed a sigh of relief, spread out the original surrounding formation, and returned to their respective posts. Siegel looked down at the amulet on his body, and couldn't help but have doubts in his heart.

Trying to meet the lord requires a lot of communication, and Siegel changes to the tavern under the guidance of the villagers. There are a large number of idlers gathered here, and the shops that are not very spacious are crowded. Siegel felt that the mount was treated better than his own, and at least it could enjoy the care of a single room.

The air in the tavern was humid, mixed with the smell of low-quality alcohol, sweat and greasy food, and when combined with the saltiness of the seawater, it was more like a ship's cabin. Siegel walked through the crowded table and made his way to the counter, his weapons rattling like many of them looking up for a second look, then lowering his head and taking a closer look under cover.

The owner of the tavern was a human of dwarven blood, with a stout, thick-haired body and an aura of speech. "What do you want?"

Siegel took out a gold coin: "Give everyone a glass of ale, count it as my treat, and pour me two glasses of mead." He asked Moore to stand behind him, looking around cautiously. There are a lot of people here, and you need to be careful.

The boss glanced at Siegel, muttered, and then took out a clay cup and filled it and placed it in front of the guests. Siegel pulled out another shiny gold coin and placed it under one of the cups, then picked up the other and waited.

This is a common method of inquiring in taverns, and the person who holds the glass needs to have the confidence to earn the money under the cup: either drink it all and take the pay, or put the glass down again and pay for his recklessness, which is usually the price of the glass. But whoever it is cannot reveal the questioner's question. so as not to cause unnecessary trouble.

Of course. There is one more case. The respondent smashes the cup. This shows that the questioner is deliberately looking for trouble, and everyone must work together to eliminate this troublemaker.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that Siegel is from the outside, well-equipped, and very stylish, not a simple character. Many hesitated, thinking that this gold coin might not be easy to earn.

Siegel was patient, holding the cup motionlessly. Keep your ears up and listen to the sounds around you. After a while, a thin young man in leather armor finally came up and moved his ass to the chair. He had a long dagger hanging from his waist, and he probably had another one hidden somewhere.

He picked up his glass, then poked his ear over. Siegel leaned down and whispered four words in his ear: "Mage McGonagall."

The young man's face changed, and the hand holding the cup trembled involuntarily, but he still raised his neck and drank the wine. He and Siegel turned around and sat down toward the bar. Customers with their backs to the tavern. As for the dwarven half-breed hotel owner, it also happens to have something to do. Give up space to these two people.

The young man in leather armor lowered his voice and said to Siegel, "If you want to know general news, then a gold coin is enough. But if you want to hear the truth, you're not offering enough price to take the risk. ”

Siegel said, "Make a price." ”

"Ten gold coins, but don't pay from here, wait until you leave the tavern. ”

Siegel nodded in agreement.

"Mage McGonagall originally lived on a cliff on the east coast, where there was a stone house and some herbs planted around it. She used to come here to buy grain and mushrooms, and to sell her alchemical potions. Later, one of her experiments went awry, causing a ghostly mist of the swamp to swallow up the clearings of the wasteland. The lord condemned her and offered her a reward of 100 gold coins for her head, for which many mercenaries went into the fog to find her. From what has been received so far, no one has been able to earn this bounty, except for the addition of many missing persons. ”

With that, the young man picked up the gold coin. Siegel looked at him, knowing that he must have something to do for the other ten gold coins.

"My friend's friend had heard one thing, and that was about last month. Someone tried to steal the lord's treasure vault, so they dug a tunnel from under the Weeping Tower to the Lighthouse. They miscalculated the turn and dug into the dungeon. ”

The young man in leather armor lowered his voice again and said to Siegel, "They saw McGonagall, locked in a cell, alive and well. He waved his hand and sneered: "Actually, it's not too good, and not everyone can get used to it." The man saw the alchemy tools, and it seemed that McGonagall was still experimenting with some kind of spell. The man lurked in the dungeon, fearing that the mage would find out, but he saw the lord appear in front of McGonagall, quarrel with her, and whip him hard. He didn't dare to look any further, so he sneaked away. ”

"It's funny, but I can't confirm it. Siegel said, "What your friend's friend has heard, I cannot find a second one to recount, and it is not worth ten gold coins, unless you tell me the entrance to that passage—at least it proves something." ”

"I don't know where the entrance to their passage is. ”

Siegel smiled slightly, patted the table with his palm, and said patiently, "Think about it carefully." ”

The young man in leather armor looked into Siegel's eyes and suddenly felt as if he was drawn in. There is a constant repetition of voices in his head: this person is your friend, you can say anything to him, everything is normal.

"There is a room on the second floor of the Weeping Tower, which contains a huge oil painting about the coast. Now there is only half of the frame left, but it is still easy to read. There were two fireplaces in that room, and behind the one near the door was a secret door that led to the mezzanine level of the castle wall that led to the underground passage. I really don't know what to do after that. ”

"That's enough, thank you. Siegel shook his hand and tucked a small gem into his palm. It's much easier than giving him ten gold coins, and you don't have to go in and out of the tavern again.

Then Siegel took out another gold coin and placed it under the new mead glass. It takes many times to hear a story before you know what it is all about, and the cautious adventurer should do so - and that's what Sir Bill taught him. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you very much for the gift subscription of the enthusiastic book friend Feng Zhimu, thank you for everyone's support, I will continue to work hard, mmmm.