"Welcome the two archmages aboard the unsinkable stone boat, please follow me to the room prepared for the two of you. There are three more groups of participants from the New World, and the unsinkable stone boat will dock here for two days to wait for them, and then set sail for the meeting place in the center of the sea. ”

"Who else did you invite besides the elves?" asked Siegel.

"There are also representatives of dragons and sandmen, who are coming from far west beyond the Walled Mountains, so they may be a little slower. The dwarf touched his beard and introduced, "Please come this way, two archmages, our dwarven king "Ice Fist" Stone Kirk would like to meet you, he will be waiting for you in the reception room. ”

More than 300 dwarves were cleaning up the surface of the unsinkable stone boat, preparing to find a clearing on the top of the island. The scene was very noisy and not suitable for a long stay, and Siegel was curious about what the inside of the stone boat looked like. No foreigner has ever entered the Unsinkable Stoneboat, and it is a legendary miracle that witnesses the landing of the dwarves in the New World. Taking it out as a venue for a meeting, it was clear that the dwarves took this event very seriously.

Apparently the first to get on the boat would be given preferential treatment, and Siegel was the first to pick a room with a crystal window. Since the Unsinkable Stoneboat was used to transport a large number of dwarves to colonize the New World, the space inside was maximized, meaning that there were no larger compartments or comfortable settings. Although the dwarves have transformed the area over a long period of time, traces of the small chambers of the past can still be seen.

All the roofs are not high, and when you lift your hand, you can feel the inextinguishable flame runestones mounted on them. The chairs here are also low, so you can only straighten your legs instead of curling up when you sit on them. Good thing the beds here are very comfortable, at least made of wooden planks. It was covered with a thick blanket.

Siegel moved away from the stool. Lay the blanket on the bed on the floor. So that he can sit on the floor. As for sleeping, it can naturally also be solved on the ground. William's room was next door, and he had no excuse to run around this time. There are just a few spell questions to talk to him about. There is no one more familiar with the customs and ecological environment of the entire continent than him.

The king of the dwarves, "Ice Fist" Stone, is a different style of person, always very serious, like a rock under the ice. He was at least six to seven hundred years old, his hair and beard had turned pale gray, and wrinkles had crept up his face. This dwarf is born very strong. Even in his old age, he still has great strength. Siegel rubbed his aching wrist and looked strangely at William, who was unharmed next to him. William glanced at him and said in a low voice, "I deformed my palm. ”

"Welcome to the Archmage of the Federation and the Lord of the Heim Realm, and welcome to our dwarven unsinkable stone boat. You're the first two non-dwarven passengers, and I hope you'll feel comfortable here. ”

"The first non-dwarven passengers must have been the anemones and starfish, I think many of them have already made their homes here. William said the joke as he turned his head to look around: "Can you find a few chairs, I need to bend my neck to see you, it's not good for my health." ”

The expression of the dwarf king Sidong did not change in the slightest. He winked at the guard next to him, so the three of them could sit down and talk.

"Archmage of Count Siegel. The top of our dwarven Mora is a neighbor of Heim Territory, and we have always had a good relationship. But I recently heard that there are many barriers on the trade route to the top of Mora, which makes the transportation of goods extremely inadequate. What can be done to improve the situation and make the roads smooth?"

The dwarf was very smart, Siegel thought, and he didn't mention the cause of this situation, nor did he dwell on the purpose of the aftermath, and focused entirely on solving the problem and changing the situation.

"When the elves wage war, the dwarves stand by as allies. Seeing that Stone wanted to speak, Siegel interrupted him: "I know that the gate of Mora's Top has been closed at that time, you may say that it is a coincidence, you don't know about it, but if everything in the world is used as an excuse for coincidence, it is too convenient." I'll just look at the last fact: the elves attack the humans, and the dwarves stand by and watch. ”

Stone nodded, "You're right, Mr. Lord. What do you want?"

Smart politicians will put themselves in a good position by letting others ask for it first. But for Siegel......

"First of all, I hope that the dwarves will be able to make a statement on this matter, otherwise the humans of the New World will have a great distrust of the dwarves, and this distrust is the cause of everything. ”

"We will condemn the Elven Forest and reaffirm the importance of peace among the three clans. "We'll also be keeping an eye on the Hub to make sure it's still a neutral human territory. ”

The implication is that the dwarves already know the outcome of the negotiations between Siegel and the Elven Sage. In order to avoid being exposed to war, the Heim Territory transformed the Hub Fort, which had been occupied by the elves, into a buffer zone in the form of a puppet territory that was managed by the elves. Fort Hub isn't far from Heim Territory, and with the current situation, Siegel has little way to influence it. The Dwarven King meant that the Dwarves would also join in the matter of the Hub, which would inevitably weaken the Elves' control over it. It is impossible for this generation of Hub Fort Lords to change under the spells of the Elven Sage, but the next generation of Lords can still fight for it.

"With the exception of the Hub Fortress, Waterdeep and many of the southern lords' territories have been destroyed by the elves, which could have been avoided by the dwarves. Do you have any good advice on this, Your Majesty the Dwarven King?"

Ice Fist Stone stroked his beard and looked straight into Siegel's eyes, and the mage looked at him without flinching. William rubbed his hands together, trying not to rush between the two men. This scene made him nervous, and if the two sides continued to be tough, the meeting would definitely end unhappily.

A new realm that wants to gain its place will certainly challenge formidable opponents as it grows. Siegel believed that since the Heim Lords had been given a seat at the Dwarven Council, the Dwarves must have understood that the Heim Lord's influence on the Heights of Mora should not be underestimated.

If the Dwarven King only condemned it, coupled with the non-promise of results, he didn't really give anything real. Siegel was not stupid, and although he did not understand the slick hand of a politician and did not want to study the intricacies of diplomacy, he was able to persevere in this confrontation.

The Dwarven King first blinked, then coughed and said, "What do you want, human boy." ”

"What else do I don't have dwarves? I used to need the mines of the Walled Mountains to run my territory, but now I don't. With the power of magic, the vast wasteland is in front of me, and there are enough veins for Heim Territory to flourish. I don't need the top of Mora to compensate Heim for anything, I'll take it myself. ”

Siegel sat up straight, spread his hands and said, "But, on the other hand, other humans don't have such good conditions. Whether it's Waterdeep, the Raven Tribe, the Southern Lords, or even the Hub Fort. They also need to build good relations with big towns like the Top of Mora. Rather, the dwarves lacked manpower and support, while the humans were the fastest multiplying other than the orcs and could provide adequate support. But not in the form of employment, only in cooperation. To put it bluntly, the mineral deposits of the city walls and mountains are jointly exploited for the needs of both sides. ”

"Your appetite is too great, Lord Siegel. The words floated from under the dwarven king's beard, but his brow did not furrow, indicating that it was within his acceptable range. He needed more reasons to support it.

"Dwarven King, I have seen the corpses of dwarves floating down the river from the mountains of the city walls, and you have lost your best miners and warriors. Those stones sleep in the mountains, and if they are not dug up, they have no value. When Mora's Peak wants to recover to its strongest, it will be difficult for the dwarves to rely on themselves. Do you want to continue transporting dwarves from the Old World? I think that maintaining an open and cooperative attitude will greatly improve the image of the dwarves, and the human inhabitants will be more willing to help you through these extraordinary times. ”

William nodded, "Dwarf King, he has some truth in what he said. ”

The silence hung on the face of "Ice Fist" Stone, it was that kind of serious silence. After a long while, he spoke: "I think what you said can be done, but the specific details will have to be discussed slowly." But in this way, there is a consensus that the top of Mora needs an unobstructed, unrestricted trade route to reach the seaside?"

"As long as it is a trade route, there must be no problem, smooth, convenient and safe, and we are willing to help. Siegel replied.

The dwarven king's beard trembled, and he knocked on the armrest of his chair and said in a loud voice, "Where is my ale?

Two humans and a dwarf shared ale and bread, and then chatted about the customs. Siegel tried several times to find out what was going on in the Goblin Crystal Wall and what the battle was like there. But the dwarven king kept silent, either by silence or by other topics.

Even Siegel's inquiry about the Dwarven Sage was perfunctory by him, without revealing a word. It seems that the dwarves want to continue to be misers, and they are not going to put the gold and gems on the table until the final meeting. This time I dined with the Dwarven King without the joyful atmosphere of Elint's house, and everything seemed very restrained.

The Unsinkable Stone Boat waited in Ximu Town for two days, and representatives from the Elven Forest also boarded the ship. Like the dwarven contingent from the top of Mora, Siegel did not see a familiar figure from the ranks of the Elven Forest. The elves chose the cabin on the other side of the ship, far away from Siegel and William. They live in seclusion, eat their own food, and don't interact with anyone else at all.

"Are they here to take a boat or to be in prison?" William quipped, "Is it that when they leave their forest, the elves lose the ability to communicate?"

"They have to speak, sooner or later. Siegel took the trouble to read the book "A Modern History of the Starry Kingdom", hoping to find between the lines something that would help him, anything. (To be continued.) )