"This is the best Augs jadeite, please look carefully, the natural smooth plane, delicate and comfortable feel, without a trace of impurities, I believe that any collector in this world can hardly refuse its charm. ”

It's a strange antique shop, and to be honest, Fosa has seen a lot of antique shops with so many treasures, Hercules battle axes from the Gladiator Realm, tops carved from the Time Corridor, star stones from the top of the Sky Dome, and even an elf from the Elven Continent, a living elf, which is absolutely priceless to the human world.

But this antique shop is an anomaly, and it has objects that Fossa cannot read or admire, skulls with missing teeth, specimens of birds without feathers on their wings, and crutches broken in three, and will anyone pay for these things?

In addition to these strange dead things, their owner is even more of a strange person, Fosa has been at least half an hour since he entered the store, showed the Augs Emerald, and then began to tell the wonderful story, and the other party did not say a word from beginning to end, and did not even raise his head to look at the Augs Emerald with his eyes, what kind of fool is this.

But Fosa didn't dare to stop, because there was a noble lord behind him - Marquis of Bass Ville, Fosa didn't want to offend this big man, it seems that this lord's patience is still relatively sufficient, but it has to be mentioned that the butler next to the Marquis has begun to get impatient, and his eyes are fierce as if he is scolding Fosa, "I shouldn't have asked such a fool of you to do this in the first place, and dared to let the noble Marquis wait here for half an hour."

Forsa knew that if he hadn't sold the Augs Jade for a good price today, there would have been one more corpse in the stinking ditch of Devonburg tonight.

Forsa: "I believe I've introduced enough, why don't you stop what you are doing, sir, and raise your head a little to look at this rare jadeite, I promise it will be the greatest blessing of your life." ”

The answer was still silent, and Fusa was already breaking out in a cold sweat.

The Marquis of Ville was not in a hurry, on the contrary, he was very patient, this shop was the same as he expected, or even better, he was surprised to have such a shop in the dark alleys of his lower town of Devonburg, knowing that the Marquis of Ville knew his territory well, even the number of rats scurrying around the sewers. But this is very good, it is normal, if you even know it easily, then there is no need to go to the store in person.

The Marquis de Vale held a scepter encrusted with red gems and observed at a leisurely pace, and his favorite of the strange objects in the antique shop was the half-moon-shaped bright red stone, which attracted the eye with its brilliant luster, and it would be a pleasure to plunge into it.

"You've been staring at it for too long. ”

Marquis Veil: "Hmm?

"Red Moonstone, take your eyes away, it's a kind reminder. ”

Kind reminders, impolite tones, and warnings between words, it is unacceptable for a commoner to dare to speak like this to a nobleman, especially if the other party is still disrespectful to the Marquis of Ville, who has served him for many years.

Butler: "Pay attention to the manner in which you speak, find out that you are the most honorable master of Devonburg in front of you, and immediately make the most sincere apology of your life, or I will remove your tongue!"

A scepter stood in front of the butler, who straightened his collar and calmed down before standing later.

Marquis Veil: "I'm sorry, my steward is a little excited. ”

Still ignoring.

The muscles on the butler's face tensed, but Marquis Vell didn't care, he followed the reminder to take his eyes off the red moon stone and look at another object, there are too many interesting things here, and there will be no shortage of means to pass the time.

From the moment he entered the store, the Marquis de Vale found that the other party was doing something that required concentration, and the workbench was covered with delicate and small tools, and even the three of them came in, sat down and started to talk, without a second of distraction, and seemed very attentive, as for Fusa, a guy who had no eyesight, it was okay not to mention it.

I don't know how long it took, but Forsa, who was infinitely tormented under the butler's gaze, ushered in a turn of hope, and the eccentric owner of the antique shop finally finished his work. Marquis Vell withdrew his gaze and looked at his next target.

Marquis Veil: "I don't know what to call you, I'm Bass Veil, and I'm the master of this Devon castle." ”

"Merchant, my name is Merchant. ”

Marquis Veil: "Well, then, Mr. Merchant, you have a lot of interesting objects in this shop, and I think they all have their own uses. ”

Merchant: "It's not something you can have. ”

The butler squinted, and every word of the merchant seemed to challenge the limits of his patience. Marquis Veil tapped the ground lightly with his scepter, adjusting his sitting position, he felt some pain in his waist, maybe it was because of his age, preferably because of his age, there were still two years to go, and he shouldn't show signs so early.

Marquis Veil: "I believe you are telling the truth, and this time I would like to believe that it is a foolish thing to make the same mistake twice." The Marquis pointed at the Augs jade, "Not interested in this jade?"

The merchant took off his white gloves and magnifying glass, sat with his back against him, facing the three of them, but there was no room for anyone.

Marquis Veil was a little surprised, this is a young man, his thoughts were destroyed by himself as soon as he started, Buzz Veil you forgot again, you can't make the same mistake a second time, engrave this in your mind, this is not a young man, just have the appearance of a young man.

Marquis de Vale: "I had a friend who introduced me to your shop, and he said it was the most interesting antique shop, so I wanted to visit it myself, and he was right. As for my friend's friend, I hope my first visit won't cause a faux pas but I don't know what to give as a greeting gift, so I took this gadget and I hope you won't mind. ”

Merchant: "What's your name?"

Marquis Veil: "Hank, a ranger who travels the world. ”

Merchant: "He's not my friend. ”

The tone was displeased, his brows furrowed slightly, and he denied it without hesitation, but this made the Marquis of Ville even more convinced of Hank's words. The Marquis de Veil rubbed his index finger against the ruby, and the butler had learned from his years of experience that the Marquis needed to be alone with the merchant, and he motioned for Forsa to leave, much to Fossa breathing a sigh of relief, but with a faint uneasiness in his heart, for the deal had not yet been successful.

The two went out to the dark alley, the housekeeper covered his nose with his hands, his brows were twisted together, in the sunny weather, there were many puddles in the alley, and the sound of dripping water from time to time was confusing, it seemed that every wall was seeping water, which was a good place for some little ones to live, and the two rats bathed in puddles and occasionally looked up at the two "giants" who broke into their territory.

Butler: "Hmph." ”

Fussa shuddered, it was a bad day, I don't know how the trade fair in the upper city is going, I vaguely remember that there are many good things in the trade catalog, such as the tattoo dagger that I like very much, although I can't afford it, as an auction host, it is not a big problem to enjoy it. Yes, now you should be at the trade fair, in the glorious lights, enjoying the crowd instead of standing in a dirty alley and worrying about your head.

Maybe the neighbor's uncle was right when he was a child.

"Look, we little Forsa want to be the chief auctioneer of Devonburg and mingle with the nobles of the Upper City, but do you know the cute little Forsa, you are too skinny, this little meat can't fill the belly of those vampires!"

What a stupid idea, you shouldn't jump to Uptown, stay honest, learn a trade, repair shoes and fish for people during the day, and be in the company of rats on the Internet, this is not a decent life, it has nothing to do with decency, but at least you are a living person.

The mouse playing in the corner of his eye seemed so free and happy at this time.

Butler: "Today's incident, this alley, this shop, that person, no details are allowed to be revealed to the fifth person, otherwise you should know what will happen." ”

Forsa: "When..... Of course, dear Mr. Steward, I, Fosa, swear to the gods that if I leak the news, I will become a big fat pig to be slaughtered, drained of every drop of blood, cut open to every piece of meat, appear on your table for you to taste, and finally be buried in the ground as useless excrement, never to be resurrected. ”

Butler: "It's a terrible oath, no one wants to taste your dry, stinky meat, and you're worth nowhere near as much as a fat pig." ”

The butler took out a bag of gold coins from his bosom.

Fosa: "No, dear Mr. Butler, I can't take your payment, all I can do is apologize for my incompetence, I don't deserve this money, please take it." ”

Steward: "The reward for this trip is a hundred gold coins, whether it is successful or not, this is a promise made by the honorable Marquis of Ville, is the refusal to accept it intended to damage the reputation of the Marquis, and to damage the reputation of the noble marquis?"

Forsa: "Don't dare, I definitely didn't mean that. ”

Fosa trembled and stretched out his hands, a hundred gold coins are enough for Fosa to squander freely for several months, in a general trade fair, as a character like Fosa, the maximum remuneration is one percent of the transaction price, and a hundred gold coins as a reward is something that Fosa has never encountered in his life, but this large sum of money does not make Fosa feel a trace of satisfaction.

took the money bag, but the butler's hand did not mean to let go.

The butler said gloomily: "Remember the oath you made today, if you let me know that any bit of news is revealed, whether the gods turn you into a fat pig or not, I will drain every drop of your blood and cut every piece of flesh on your body." ”

The warnings were all born of self-confidence built by great strength, and Fosa lowered his posture, and the weight of the hundred gold coins he carried in his hands was overwhelming.

......

...

The two people in the store who were supposed to be having a conversation were silent.

The Marquis de Veil was clearly thinking, again, that the same mistake could not be made a second time, and he intended to weave ideas, organize the language, prepare foolproofly, and make a pleasant and comfortable conversation.

The businessman is tidying up his workbench, wiping down every used tool and rearranging it in the same order, and the simple and neat discharge always makes people feel good.

Marquis de Vale: "Before we begin talking, may I tell you a story, how?"

The merchant didn't answer, he didn't have the slightest idea of starting a conversation.

The Marquis de Vale took matters into his own hands: "The protagonist of the story is a nobleman with a vast territory, which means many people, and at the same time has the opportunity to meet all kinds of people every day. Human contact inevitably leads to misunderstandings, friction and quarrels, but this is a cultured and polite nobleman, he rarely shows arrogance, yes, he is not like other low-quality nobles. Of course, there are exceptions, such as on the rare occasions when you are in a bad mood. That day happened to be such a time, so the nobleman had a quarrel with a foreigner, and a small misunderstanding arose. ”

The tools on the workbench were put back in order, and the merchant leaned back against his chair with his fingers intersected, satisfied with the sight before him, and his carelessness did not affect the rhythm of the other party's story.

Marquis Veil: "This is a small matter, close your eyes and sleep, and the nobleman will know what a meaningless thing he has done when he wakes up the next day, but the other party did not give the nobleman a chance to apologize, he threw a curse on the nobleman, a terrible curse, a powerful curse, a curse that made the nobleman helpless to find more than a dozen magicians. In the eyes of the nobles, there are only two ways to lift this curse, one is to find the stranger, and the other is to find a magician who is more powerful than this foreigner, Mr. Merchant, what do you think?"

For the first time, the merchant turned his attention to the Marquis de Vale, neatly groomed hair, simple red clothes, gold filigree embroidery depicting a winged eagle, the eagle's eye on the shoulder was embellished by a jewel, the scepter inlaid with red gems revealed nobility, the clean and shiny black boots without a trace of stains, casual posture, focused eyes, relaxed corners of the mouth, this is a person who is more unassuming than any other nobleman but more flamboyant than any nobleman, he does not have the uninhibited uninhibited nature that a nobleman should have, only a haughty self-confidence than all others.

Merchant: "This is a stupid nobleman, and the protagonist of the story is not him, but the sorcerer, and the nobleman will not be able to find this sorcerer, let alone anyone more powerful than this sorcerer." ”

Marquis Veil sat up straight, his hands holding his scepter flat on his lap, his expression tightened, every inch of his nerves tensed.

Marquis Veil: "I think I have found it, my intuition has always been very accurate, this is not a hurry, there is still plenty of time, I hope that Mr. Merchant will consider it fully before deciding whether to help me or not, as for this piece of jadeite is my gift to Mr. Merchant, please accept it." ”

With that, the Marquis of Ville stood up and bowed to the commoner as a nobleman, then turned to leave.

It's a boring thing, the mystery revealed too soon is hard to get started, and the red moonstone light on the window is fading.

The merchant looked around and knew that he still had a lot of work to do, to complete the teeth of the skull, to make the bird's feathers grow back, to put the cane back together, and by the way, the armor that was missing a foot that was bouncing every night needed to be put first, if he didn't want to be woken up in the middle of the night.

The skull has its jaws open and closed, its missing teeth preventing it from moving properly, and its mouth is comically crooked, the bird spreads its featherless wings and leaps on the edge of the window and falls to the ground, and the three crutches float head to tail and are carefully searching for a suitable interface to reunite. There was a crackling sound from the wooden floor of the antique shop, and the cracks in the planks next to the workbench arched slightly, and something was struggling to drill upwards, hoping to break through the wood, and with a snap, a fluffy ball came out, and the thick, soft brown hair made it impossible to distinguish its appearance, rolling slowly on the ground.

Merchant: "Be quiet, I need to keep working, you're going to distract me." ”

The skull stopped, keeping its crooked beak closed, the bird that fell to the ground looked at the merchant with only his head exposed on the high workbench, retracted his wings and climbed up to the window in despair, the three crutches flew quietly back to his shelf, and the furball on the floor stopped rolling and adjusted its direction to "face" the merchant.

This is obviously much better, the merchant began to select tools to prepare for the next job, and woke up to the neat and orderly workbench There is a foreign object, the merchant picked it up, the green luster is indeed beautiful, and it is only beautiful, he casually threw it at the hairball, the hairball drew a horizontal line on the body, opened a mouth that was bigger than the body, and caught the jade with a mouth full of sharp teeth.

In the antique shop, the merchant works with his head down, the hairball at his feet swaying, trying to digest the "food" in his mouth.

......

...

The butler outside the door had been waiting for a long time, and the red blanket spread all over the alley to a carriage at the mouth of the alley, and the coachman opened the door to wait for the marquis's return.

Marquis Veil: "It seems that the Augs Emerald we prepared did not attract much interest to him. ”

Butler: "Lord Marquis thinks this will be a problem?"

The Marquis de Veil smiled briskly, threw up his scepter and caught it again, his hands behind his back, and the mood was very pleasant, and the dark and dirty alleys became pleasing to the eye.

Marquis de Vale: "On the contrary, it has given me a clearer idea of how to deal with this reclusive shopkeeper, and I believe that talking to him will give me a better understanding of how to deal with him." ”

The area around the gates of Devonburg is filled with all kinds of people every day, and the Bounty Hunters' Guild is the main reason why they like to wander here, not only to be the first to get the latest bounties released by the guild, but also to earn extra money nearby.

The people who will be around here will be more or less useful to bounty hunters to deal with, and there may be a "little deal" or two that needs to be run behind the scenes, and as long as the price is reasonable, you can always find a hunter who can solve their problems. Of course, there are certain things that are not allowed in the law and can be severely punished at any time, if you are caught.

The general impression is that the most powerful thing about the bounty hunter is not the axe and sword in his hand, nor the magic that bursts in the chanting, but the mouth that can be spoken, and the hunters in groups of three or five can always attract the attention of the gold lord with the best effect.

"A good sword made of meteoric iron, coupled with excellent swordsmanship, has created a peerless warrior, who has slaughtered the frost giant in the north, shaved the black water serpent in the south, and the desert giant scorpion in the west, the mandala man-eating flower in the east, and even the dragon slayer, as long as you need it, our warriors can cut all the obstacles that stand in front of you for you, and only ten gold coins can gain the allegiance of this warrior. ”

A tall man with a broadsword on his back, his hands clasped around his chest, his majestic gaze sweeping away every gaze that looked at him, wearing only simple sleeveless leather armor, and many scars on the strong muscles tightened by the posture, showing his great achievements.

"A magician from the Magic Dao Academy with unlimited potential, a magician who can use fourth-order magic, no matter how many monsters there are, it can be solved with just a wave of the staff, not only fighting, but also helping you find things that have been lost for many years, scattered relatives, curing diseases that cannot be cured by famous doctors, the usefulness of magic you can't imagine, fifteen gold coins, only fifteen gold coins you have the opportunity to peek into the mysteries of magic. ”

Contrary to the former, this is a female magician, but the dress is not much different, maybe less, the scattered freckles are dotted with a big smile, and the staff resting on her chest stands just right, and it also just rightly separates the two white peaks, which is obviously more attractive than the fourth-order magic.

"The Tribal Tomahawk Men Who Master Thunder ......"

"The Prophet of All-Knowing ......"

"Twin Knife ...... Passed Down from Generation to Generation"

Every few days, merchants come for a walk around the guild, and in addition to fishing in troubled waters, merchants can also get some strange things to see, which is exactly what merchants are interested in. He always likes to walk quietly in the crowd, and does not contact anyone and communicate with anyone until he finds something that interests him.

"I heard that the old vulture is back?"

"I'm back, and I seem to have brought back something good. ”

"What good thing? What good can this greedy and disgusting bedbug have, and deception is the only way for him to make ends meet. ”

"No, this time it seems to be true, I heard that the guild leaders have appeared, just because of what he brought back, by the way, I remembered, it was a blue crystal fragment. ”

"Blue crystal? or fragments? Damn, what's so strange about this, the shit luck guy actually gave him a chance to meet the president, where did he get such a thing?"

"Shadow Wolf Mountain. ”

The voice was lowered by the speaker, and the two began to communicate in a low voice.

"Did you hear that there is a powerful witch on Shadow Wolf Mountain? ”

"Cut, isn't she just a witch, no matter how powerful she is, she can't be better than those mothers-in-law in Chase Town and Luxembourg. ”

"No, my friend, this witch isn't so great at spelling, you know what she's called? ”

"Pierce, my good brother, I hope you can use what little of your brain is where it should be used, instead of focusing on these trifles, so that you can make more money. ”

In the noisy environment, there was a small conversation, and the merchant looked at the two people, one tall and one short, twenty meters away from him, which was something worth knowing about himself.

Merchant: "Good afternoon, both of you." ”

The taller one, with leather armor shoulder pads, black trousers, flat boots, a dagger hanging diagonally from his back, and a bow and quiver at his feet, Pierce dressed as a ranger. The shorter one, dressed in chain mail, with a thick beard stained with last night's wine dregs, and a double-edged axe of almost equal height polished and shiny, was a dwarven warrior with a strong muscle.

Dwarf: "What, what's the matter, tall man." ”

Merchant: "I'm interested in the wolf witch you just talked about. ”

This is not a good thing, although he is short but not blind, there is no such person in sight when the two of them were talking just now, and they are so noisy around, they still keep their voices down to talk, obviously in the eyes of the dwarven warriors, the tall man in front of him is a villain who likes to hide in a dark corner and eavesdrop, and the matter of inquiring is still related to the old vulture, and there is no good thing about this guy.

Dwarf: "No, I don't understand what you said, and you give Lao Tzu your waist pole to straighten up and speak, do you look down on Lao Tzu? ”

The merchant straightened his waist, took out something from his pocket and threw it to the dwarf, the dwarf caught it with one hand and opened it to see, a golden coin, the dwarf stared at each other with wide eyes, rubbed the gold coin with his thumb, slowly picked it up and put it in his mouth and bit it, good guy, the taste of money is really sweet.

Dwarf: "Haha, I have a stupid and dull mouth, and I have such an unenlightened stupid brain, I apologize to you for my stupid behavior, noble sir, Grack is willing to serve you." ”

With his left hand outstretched, his right hand resting on his heart, and his right foot standing on the heel of his left foot, he bent slightly, and his ceremonial movements looked a little comical under the dwarven bucket-like figure.

Merchant: "Just call me Merchant, I hope you can tell me more about the wolf spirit witch." ”

Dwarf Gerak: "Oh, yes, Wolf Witch, that's exactly right, then ask my companion Pierce to speak for you." ”

Gerak knocked his companion with his elbow, Pierce looked embarrassed, tell me in detail, how to tell in detail? It was just hearsay, not to mention that this should have been a rumor in the market, what could be worth telling, but under the temptation of gold coins and Gerak's murderous eyes, Pierce had to bite the bullet.

Ranger Pierce: "This is what happened in Wolf Hide, eh...... There's a mountain over there, and on top of it is the territory of the Shadow Wolf, and then ...... By the way, that mountain is called Shadow Wolf Mountain, hehe, it's a very straightforward name, isn't it...... There's a witch who lives with the Shadow Wolf, yes, that's why she lives together and is called the Wolf Spirit Witch, that's what happened, Mr. Merchant. ”

Gluck swore that if it weren't for the usefulness of this guy, he would have picked up the axe and split the idiot in two from head to toe, what a wonderful story, without a single flaw, as long as the merchant was not a fool, he would now be noisily snatching back the gold coins he had just covered hot, Gluck was seriously thinking about whether he should run now, compared to the length of the two feet, the chances of successfully running away seemed to be small.

It didn't happen as he had guessed, and the merchant knuckled his fingers in deep thought, and Gerak realized that the tall man might be a good half-brother to Pierce in terms of his mind, and a clever idea came to his mind.

Dwarf Grak: "Mr. Merchant, if you are interested, I think I can provide you with a just right solution, you can pay us to take you to Shadow Wolf Mountain to meet this wolf spirit witch, and then all your interests and doubts can be solved, what do you think?"

Merchant: "Hmm......"

As an antique shop owner who can repair his broken pieces, he must have an over-the-ordinary concentration, and at this point the merchant is perfectly suitable, if not better, and he can divide his concentration into two parts. The merchant left his ears to the dwarf, and his eyes continued to sway through the crowd, and even with the considerable height difference, Gerak was keenly aware of the detail, and he did not allow accidents to happen.

Gluck the Dwarf: "Dear Mr. Merchant, I am an outlier as a bounty hunter here, and this is due to my honesty, and I am not trying to discredit my peers for my desired ends, but I am not used to their ugly faces constantly coming up with lies. Believe me, that strong warrior, if you come again tomorrow, you will find more of his magnificent achievements, because he slaughtered the blue wolf in the north yesterday, tamed the eight-legged spider in the south, destroyed the red monkey's nest in the west, not to mention the east, he killed five earth dragons by himself, is there anything more ridiculous than this?!"

The merchant's gaze shifted, and at the same time Gerke's words changed.

Dwarf Grak: "Oh, this damn bitch is out and coquettish again, a magician who can use fourth-order magic, my God, would such a powerful magician be in such a messy place? That's right, the chair she sat on was still prepared for her by others in advance, and this was the status that a fourth-order magician should have. As for this bitch, I suspect she doesn't even know the first spell of chanting first-order magic, look at her fat ass, her delicate waist, damn it, don't these pigs have brains, and they would be deceived by such clumsy technology. ”

As Grack had hoped, the merchant's eyes returned to him, and that was exactly what he wanted. And Pierce was immersed in the astonishing words of his companion, it seemed that such a tough warrior turned out to be a liar, but how did Gerak know, they were not here yesterday. And that exaggerated sorceress, whose figure is indeed seductive, but fifteen gold coins, and a gold coin in a brothel in the lower city can make you enjoy heavenly happiness, or even that...... Pierce shook his head, slicing the dirty thoughts out of his mind and returning his attention to their conversation.

Merchant: "Your suggestion is good. ”

Grak's two thick eyebrows were dancing happily, his eyes were shining, he smelled the smell of the great dwarven warrior's fate turning, and he could pay a gold coin if he inquired about the news, it was a damn gold coin, he should change a money bag, otherwise that narrow bag would not be able to hold a bag full of gold coins.

Dwarf Grak: "It's definitely a bad suggestion, but before I do that, I'd like to get some small details out with Mr. Merchant, so that everyone doesn't get into trouble." Shadow Wolf Mountain is a considerable distance from Devonburg, it is remote, Devonburg except for us I am afraid that there is no second group of people who can accurately bring you, and when you get to Shadow Wolf Mountain, it is the territory of monsters, you need not only a guide but also a strong guard, just right, you can find both of these points in our place. Of course, the price will definitely be a little more expensive, but I can guarantee that it will definitely not make you think that the price is too high, let me think, huh...... It's probably thirty gold coins...... What does it look like left and right?"

Grak cautiously probed, not missing every slight change in the other man's face, and he was always ready to adjust the price, whether it was up or down. At such times, Pierce always admires Grack, not the mouth, but the face that the chain mail can't compare, but I have to say that thanks to this thick face, he has been able to live with money until now.

Merchant: "Sixty gold coins, then." ”

Grak the Dwarf: "Yes, that's right, sixty...... Six...... Sixty?!"

The startled dwarf jumped at least twice his height, and for the first time he had an angle to look down on the top of someone's head, but unfortunately Gerak didn't cherish it, and he fell into a huge impact. Pierce exhaled and held his longbow to keep himself on his feet, taking care to keep his face in check so that his expression would not collapse.

Merchant: "I'll pay you thirty gold coins first, and then I'll pay the remaining thirty gold coins when you're done." ”

Grak the Dwarf: "When...... Of course, we can do it your way, totally agree, right, Pierce. ”

Ranger Pierce: "Yes, yes, yes, yes. ”

The two of them, who were a little incoherent at first, adjusted their breathing rhythm, how sudden the favor of the goddess of fate came, and the oncoming happiness made people nervous. The merchant took out a bag of gold coins and handed it to the other party cheerfully, informing the two to meet outside Devonburg at noon tomorrow, and then left, yes, without any insurance, he left the money bag and left, incredibly rich.

Gluck the dwarf breathed a sigh of relief: "Whew, Pierce pack up, we'll leave Devonburg late tonight." ”