Sir Bill had obviously drunk a lot, his face was flushed, and he was staggering as he walked, but he still found Siegel in the corner of the courtyard. Evan took the opportunity to say goodbye and slipped away through the shadows of the courtyard trees. He was quick and dexterous, which made Jazz look at his back a few more times. Sir Bill and his retinue found the same well-fed horses, so the three creatures staggered home.

"How do you feel about the banquet?" asked Sir.

"They ate really well, and I also met a friend named Evan. He's a very talkative guy and feels like he's getting along well. ”

"Evan Kinsman?" Sir Bill stroked his chin. In the Star Country, it is not strange for the king to have an illegitimate child, but it is extremely rare to be able to bring an illegitimate child back to the royal court. Evan is one such "lucky one". At that time, the queen was so overwhelmed by this incident that the relationship between the two was almost broken, the queen's family took the opportunity to make trouble, the courtiers were divided into two factions to fight each other, and the whole kingdom was almost on the verge of civil war. It wasn't until the king and queen gave birth to a second son that the matter slowly subsided. So Evan Jin Kwai is well known in the starry country.

Prince Aaron is only a year older than Evan, and the two have grown up together since childhood, which is also extremely rare in writing the "long history" of illegitimate children. Everyone said that the crown prince had a tolerant and kind heart, and that he was able to treat his illegitimate brother well as an elder brother, and that he would be able to treat his future subjects with more tolerance and trust. Evan, on the other hand, never cared about politics or anything, and devoted himself to practicing swordsmanship. It is said that he began to challenge the palace guards at an early age, and was able to defeat them one by one at the age of 14. After that, he went to trouble the Dawn Guard, and unexpectedly won a few victories, showing his extraordinary strength.

"Leave Evan alone, I have a task for you. I found a caravan that was going to Fort Hub, transporting some saplings and dirt over. Although the smell is not good, it is relatively safe, so you can eat and drink. Prepare tomorrow and leave at noon. As the two of them walked back to the inn by the bright moonlight, Sir said to Siegel, "Be careful with your food and drink, though you should be careful. It's about a month to walk on the road, so you need to find some air-dried meat that can last longer, just in case. Bring some more arrows, there will probably be no supplies on the way. ”

"Yes, my lord, I'll get ready to pack. ”

Sir Bill threw the reins to his reins, straightened his clothes, and said, "I'll go and move, and you can lead your horse back and rest." Don't look for me before noon. ”

With that, Sir turned a corner, pushed open an unlocked door, and went back to the latch, and then slammed up to the second floor. In this small villa, there is a room always lit by candlelight, decorated with lace curtains that gently sway outside the open windows, and a beautiful shadow is cast on the curtains.

The horse snorted, took a stride forward, and then looked back at the stable. "Well, I didn't want to peek. Siegel hurried to the front in a few steps, tugging at the horse's mane along the way. "I said dark horse, when are you going to let me ride it once?"

The war horse shook his head, as if he didn't understand what the young man was saying. Siegel grabbed the reins, then turned to leave.

"Boy. Someone stopped him, and Siegel watched.

A Knox guild mage stood at the corner of the street, his shadow dark and long, as if able to writhe on its own. The oily bald head reflected the silver-white moonlight, and the red swirl tattoo seemed to rotate slowly. Siegel rubbed his eyes, making sure none of these were hallucinations.

The man had his back to the light, so he couldn't see his face clearly, except that he was standing with his hands and fingers crossed over his chest. His voice was slow and cold, and he asked, "Do you know where the Leaping Fish groceries are?"

Siegel shook his head: "I'm not familiar with this place either. ”

"It's a shame. I had to ask someone else. The man sighed, then said, "Boy, then do you know where to buy the best gems in Ximu Town?"

The man said as he pulled out a gold coin. The coin jumped between his fingers, bounced into the air, glided, and finally came to a steady stop in front of Siegel. This is a gold coin of the school city, larger and heavier, which can be exchanged for two ordinary gold coins.

Siegel hesitated for a moment, and then said slowly: "When I go to the grocery store, I can only buy some wooden barrels, bamboo baskets, ropes, fishing nets, etc., and I have to go to the pawnshop to see the gems." I also knew that there was an iron gate opposite the third berth in the harbor, where smugglers and adventurers liked to try their luck. ”

After speaking, the squid spread out his right hand, and the gold coin landed firmly in his palm. He reached for it and put the gold in his pocket. When he looked up again, the man was gone.

The sound of music and shouts of joy could be heard in the distance, and even in the middle of the night, the joy did not end. Siegel scratched his head, and by the moonlight, he looked in every direction of the street, and there were only two stray dogs chasing the rats, and there was no other shadow. He wasn't sure if Knox's mage had spoken to him just as he wasn't sure if the pleasant sounds were coming from Elvis Manor or from the second-story villa next door. Siegel dug into his pocket and found a coin that was noticeably large and heavy, causing him to shudder.

Siegel took two quick steps and led his horse back to the Stormy Night Inn. The inn was still lit up, but there was no hustle or bustle. The enthusiastic sailors have already decided the winners and losers at the wine table, and the winner has now fallen in the crook of the ** arm, and the loser is still lying on the wine table with a mess of cups and plates.

The innkeeper finds the drunkards' purses one by one, and settles the money for the liquor while they are powerless to resist. He would never take more money from the sailors, for that would provoke the curse of the sea god, and he would only take out the coins according to the number on the bill. Over time, the guests who came here knew about this, and they would no longer be stupid to stop him. Timothy did this only because too many sailors woke up the next morning and found that their companions had eaten and drunk while he was drunk, and had spent more than he had expected, so they would be angry at the bills and cunningly find all sorts of excuses to avoid paying them. Timothy understands the feelings, but he won't accept the loss.

"Hey, squid, how are you having tonight?" the boss yawned at him, leaned up straight, and asked, "I'm tired here, but I still have some stew and sour soup left, would you like some?"

"Thanks, I almost didn't die today—eight trotters and so many other things. Siegel returned to his familiar surroundings, breathing in the booze-filled air, the smell of the sea, and the warm light of the stove, feeling much better, at least without the eerie mages and creepy voices. "I'm leaving tomorrow, and I'll go to you in the morning to settle the bill for these days. ”

"Oh, we're on our way again, would I like to get you some biscuits?"

"It's okay to prepare a little less, it shouldn't take much. Siegel replied.

Then a drunkard beside him rolled over from his chair, suddenly waved his arms like a commander, and shouted, "Ahhhh

Siegel was taken aback.

"These drunkards are still dreaming of getting rich!" said the boss with a smile, "The mages of Knox are going to build a lighthouse and buy all kinds of gems at a high price." Ruby, in particular, is willing to buy one for 500 gold. But sailors may have some pearls, and gems are rare. ”

Siegel thought of the dark shadow in the moonlight again, and the cold atmosphere of the street resurfaced, making his bones shiver. He had a foreboding feeling that there was a shadow of a fishing net in the air around him, and that the gap was tightening from a distance, and it was coming towards the poor little fish. So he ran out of the inn and banged on the door of the grocery store until the gnome, dressed only in his pajamas, jumped out of the open window. Holding an oil lamp in one hand and a short stick in the other, Pi Ya shouted angrily: "Damn, who won't let me sleep?"

"Duck, what about the ruby I sold you? you didn't sell the bald head to Knox, did you?"

It was only after hearing the familiar voice that the gnome really opened his eyes. He looked up at the moonlight, pinned the bat behind his belt, and asked suspiciously, "What?" ”

Siegel took a deep breath and decided to tell his friend the whole story, and voiced his concerns: "I don't know why the mages of Knox are concerned about rubies, but I have a gut feeling that there is something to do with it. I would like to redeem that gem if I could. ”

"I can't redeem it, I can't help it. Pi Ya smiled and said, "I have already ground that gem into powder and used it as a raw material to make a rune potion for dwarves, and it is impossible to change it back." I hired a master craftsman who would come and make the runestones for my distilled water stove in a few days, so that I could save a lot of firewood. Don't worry, no ruby is as valuable as my secret ingredient!

"Missing the gem?"

"It's completely gone. ”

"That's good. Siegel let out a long sigh of relief, he felt that his stomach was lighter after such an activity.

"Anything else? I want to go back to sleep. The dwarf's head shook, and his eyelids began to close.

"No! I'll tell you about it. I needed some jerky, arrows, mulled wine and forage, two blankets, a pair of horseshoes, a new whetstone and a velvet box. The squid smiled maliciously.

"Damn, when are you leaving?" said the dwarf, straining his spirits.

"Tomorrow at noon. ”

"Triple the price now, and tomorrow morning it's 80% off!" the dwarf almost shouted.

"I'm here to give you a deposit. Siegel touched a gold coin and came out - he was sure it wasn't a school city gold coin. "Go to sleep, I'll come back to you tomorrow morning. ”

(In the words of the author, "When I write, I write down the order of location and plot, so the number of words in each chapter is unstable after the chapters are truncated. I try to keep the plot flowing after the breakout, please continue to support, thank you. ）