"Come on, Crete. Eat some more." Hawke stuffed another candy into Crete's hand. "Look at the slippery packaging on it. This is heavenly stuff. They brought it with them when they fell. Eat one less candy. Anyway, it tastes much better than the new candies they made in the factory."
"You, don't you want to eat?" Crete came to the third camp to deliver a letter today. When he was leaving the camp, he was stopped by Hawke who was off work and forced to stuff two candies into his mouth.
"Hehe, I'm an adult, and adults like this more." Hawke took out a cigarette from his pocket, put it under his nose and smelled it, then reluctantly put it back into his pocket, "Besides, I'm a warehouse manager, and I have a lot of some of the scarce things allocated to the mine."
"Thank you." Crete held the candy in his mouth with a grateful look on his face. "You have a really good job. I'm sure everyone is envious of you, right?"
"I'm not envious of you. How can I be better than you? You live in a castle, right?"
"But I'm just a messenger these days." Crete was a little depressed.
"Has no one taught you magic yet?" Hawke said with a hint of anger in his tone. "If you ask me, you don't owe Master Xiao Chen anything. It's unfair for him to treat you like this. He should at least let other magicians, even magic apprentices, teach you something, right?"
Krit ate the candy and shook his head, saying, "I haven't seen any other magicians, except Ms. Luo Ling and that magician Andrew, but they all have their own things to do. I haven't seen any apprentices."
"No one?" Hawke observed him for a while and whispered, "How about I take you out to relax today? I met a lot of friends in the camp. These people are all interesting guys. They will have a dinner party tomorrow."
Crete looked up at Hawke and said hesitantly, "Thank you, but I think I'd better forget it. It's getting late, I should go back to the castle."
"Will they be watching you?" Hawke asked.
"That won't happen. I live in a single room by myself. Even if I don't go out at night, no one will bother me."
"That's great. You can come with me to meet the guys, and then just stay in the camp." Hawke leaned close to Crete's ear and whispered, "There are a few people from the hunting camp who will sneak over and bring game. There are also two people coming from the dock who will bring fish. You didn't eat that well in the city, did you? This is a rare opportunity."
"Why are there so many of you gathered together? Don't you say that we can't run around after dark?" Crete asked worriedly.
"Hey, there are so many people in the camp, how many guards are there? Besides, we just want to eat something new and have some fun. It doesn't matter if we are discovered."
When it was really dark, Hawke took Crete to the edge of the camp, where there were several large warehouses for storing sundries. He walked to an inconspicuous side door and knocked on the door rhythmically.
After a while, the door opened a crack.
The person inside seemed to look at them for a while and said, "Newcomers?"
"Yes, don't worry, everything is in accordance with the rules." Hawke put his arm around Crete's shoulders, "My little brother Crete."
The person inside didn't say anything, opened the door, turned around and walked in.
The house seemed to be completely dark, with no one inside. Crete looked at Hawke hesitantly. Hawke grinned and said, "Don't worry, follow me."
Crete followed Hawke into the house, and when he walked through the door, the room became brighter, as if many lights were suddenly turned on at the same time. Or, more like suddenly entering a new world of lights.
At the same time, he found that the room was not empty. On the contrary, there were many people sitting or standing, talking to each other and eating. As he stepped into the room, he was hit by a noisy sound. If most of these people were not wearing coarse clothes, he would almost feel that this was a party for nobles. However, before he walked into the door, he did not hear any sound.
When Crete came in, almost everyone noticed them. Many people stopped talking and turned to look at him. These people were old and young, but Crete found that these people in the room, whether standing or sitting or talking about the content, did not look like civilians. Some of them were too strong, reminding him of knights and mercenaries, and some were mysterious like the legendary spellcasters. This made him a little nervous, so he stood at the door at a loss.
Hawke saw Crete in a daze and said with some pride: "There is a capable person among us! I heard that this is a magic circle that can make people outside the house feel that there is no one in the house. It is something they made up. However, it has nothing to do with us. Come with me, let's go find something to eat."
The crowd gradually dispersed, and Hawke pulled Crete to a table. There was no exquisite food on the table, only a few ceramic plates and bowls with barbecued game, fish and some common fruits. Hawke grabbed a piece of rabbit meat, handed it to Crete and said, "Try it."
The aroma of meat mixed with the smell of burning, plus some unknown herbs, tasted very tempting. Crete took a bite and smiled with satisfaction.
"Is it worth it?" Hawke picked up a rabbit leg and said while biting it.
"However, there is a tavern inside the camp, which is more lively than here. Why don't these people go there?" asked Crete.
"Tavern?" Hawke sneered. "Look at the people here. Each of us has a great background. For example, my ancestors have been viscounts of the southern city-state for many generations! Our family even produced two dragon-blooded warriors, which is the real blood of red dragons. Take this guy who shot the rabbit." Hawke pointed to a burly middle-aged man not far away, "Baron Norton, an imperial man, is a good archer."
Hawke introduced many people in the room. Almost everyone had a background, and the worst one was a knight's squire.
"Tell me, even if we become slaves because of war or crime, can we stay with those real mud-legged people? I can even recite seven or eight poems, but they don't even know a single letter. So, we, the upper class, have to have our own place to go."
Upon hearing this, Crete put down the meat in his hand, lowered his head and said, "Then why did you bring me here? To sing for these people?"
"How is that possible!" Hawke shouted, "You are already a wizard apprentice. That is such a noble status, enough to join our group. We have a saying in the south that a wizard is equal to an earl, and an apprentice is at least equal to a knight! You are confused and don't realize that you are already a superior person."
"But I don't know any magic." said Crete.
"This won't change anything. Identity is about what you are, not what you can do." Hawke continued to deal with the rabbit leg while talking nonsense. "Besides, I think there are some people here who may be able to help you."
"help me?"
"Of course. When we entered the house, wasn't the magic circle that blocked the light magical? Can't you learn this skill first?" Hawke said as he waved into the distance.
Soon, a young man who was older than Hawke came over. He was thin and tall, and looked like a weak and sickly person. He seemed to be floating when he walked. However, his deep purple eyes were very bright, and his thin lips seemed to indicate that he was a determined person. The man was also wearing coarse cloth clothes, but there was a huge "1" on it. Crete knew that this meant that he was from Camp No. 1.
"Hawk, what do you want from me, you troublemaker?" The young man's voice was a little low.
"Any cigarettes left?" Hawke asked, staring into the young man's pocket.
The young man frowned and took out a cigarette from his pocket and threw it on the table, "Why don't I smoke you to death?"
Hawke nimbly held the cigarette in his mouth, pointed at Crete and said, "Lorenzo, guess who this is?"
"Hehe." The young man laughed, "What a delicate little fellow, whiter than a woman. Could it be that he is a young master from a southern family and has fallen here?"
"No, no, Crete is much more powerful than any young master." Hawke shook his head proudly.
"Krete? I seem to have heard this name somewhere... Could he be the new apprentice of Master Xiao Chen?"
"That's right! This is the person that Master Xiao Chen has his eyes on! Crete is my good friend now." Hawke lit the cigarette over a candle and took a deep puff.
Lorenzo carefully looked at Crete again, and suddenly a look of surprise appeared on his face. He slightly closed his eyes, muttered something, opened his eyes and said, "Master Xiao Chen has a good eye. I feel his great potential. He will definitely go far in the field of magic. But the strange thing is, Master Xiao Chen has taken him in as an apprentice for quite a long time, right? How come his potential has not been developed at all?"
"That's right, he hasn't learned anything yet. You may not know that Master Xiao Chen left here a few days ago. This made Crete, who was eager to learn skills, very anxious." Hawke patted Crete on the shoulder, "How about you teach him some of your tricks?"
"Me? He has a teacher of his own. Besides, I'm not a wizard, I'm just a half-baked bard."
"But those tricks of yours are also magic, aren't they? You see, the matter is very simple. Crete's teacher is obviously too busy and he can't learn anything. If you can help him and let him learn a few tricks first, he won't be laughed at as a wizard apprentice who doesn't know any magic. Maybe he can help you in the future." Hawke said, flicking the ash from his cigarette.
Lorenzo shrugged and said, "We don't care about inheritance as much as the mages do. However, I only know some small tricks with limited effects, otherwise I wouldn't stay in Camp No. 1. Well, it doesn't hurt to teach me. We are a group of people gathered together, just like a family, and we help each other. But the most important thing is, do you want to learn?"
Krete was a little overwhelmed, and stammered for a while before saying, "I learned this...Will Master Xiao Chen be angry when he comes back? Also, how do you want me to repay you?"
"I don't think so. There's no conflict here. If the apprentice becomes stronger, the mentor should be happy, right?" Lorenzo asked back, "Talking about rewards is meaningless. Since you are Hawke's good friend, you are like my brother. And I owe Hawke a favor. What do you say?"
"I... I do." Crete finally nodded.