A shabby hut with a lantern on the tabletop.
The dim light can only cover a square foot, and Powell must get close to see the handwriting written on the pen tip.
Outside the light, there are damp and moldy wooden walls, with urine buckets in the corners, a wooden bed in the middle, and thin and ragged sheets.
This is a cheap hotel, a paradise for lice and fleas.
Workers, coolies, alcoholics, bankrupts, the people living here are so mixed, travelers have to take care of themselves.
The five big and three thick shopkeepers only provide a room, and don't care about the others. If you want to eat or drink or steal or snatch, it's all at your own discretion, don't set the house on fire.
If something goes wrong, the owner will at best collect the body afterwards.
Living in such a place is not what Powell wanted. But as an undercover agent, life has to face ups and downs from time to time.
He is used to living a disorderly life in darkness and chaos, serving one after another, collecting huge bounty, and then spending it in a certain gold-selling cave.
Anyway, people in this industry can't live long.
Why not serve Victor Hugo? The other party has more money.
Powell thought about this problem, and he even talked to other spy partners. But assassins, thieves, bards, and adventurers who wandered through towns, I’m afraid they have all thought about similar issues.
But the answer is obvious, no cooperation.
Victor Hugo has a strong aura of order. No matter where he goes, he tries to calm the situation and make rules so that everyone obeys him.
Powell felt this deeply when he went to Harmony Village for the first time. He worked as a blacksmith in the forge of the village, and he was exhausted. The foreman even managed to get up and sleep every day.
Most adventurers hate this feeling of being restrained, and they like to be free. Whether it's killing people and arson or acting out of justice, they all act entirely according to their own will.
Therefore, Powell would rather work for the long-legged family, would rather live in a moldy and smelly cheap hotel, would rather hide in peace, than be a "rich leader".
Under the lantern, there are two or three paper rolls on the wooden table, and an owl is squatting by the table, with big eyes staring at Powell's pen nib.
Poor papyrus paper is too hard and brittle, and the quill will scratch the surface of the paper accidentally. It is a skill to write quickly and well, so a scribe is a very professional job.
Accidentally, the nib cracked. A ball of ink dripped and smudged the entire surface of the paper. The gray-yellow papyrus absorbed the ink and was immediately scrapped.
Alas..., it has to be rewritten again.
Powell lost the quill and sighed in distress. He turned his head to look at the owl at the table, in a daze for several minutes.
The owl is the favorite of a certain long-legged wizard. An hour ago, it flew from the window, with a paper scroll tied to its legs.
This is a faster way to transfer information from otherworlds, but a fixed point of reception must be selected. On the scroll, the wizard hiding in another place reported several things.
"Adrian's'villain dog' attacked a Minos family manor outside the city, killed two people, and forcibly abducted one person. Victor Hugo may know something and is looking for us everywhere.
The family encouraged a number of bandits to ambush outside the city and continuously attacked the transport convoy of the Harmony Chamber of Commerce. But the small bandits are too weak to do anything at all.
A few days ago, the family Lord Exxon personally led a team to organize multiple bandits to ambush and successfully snatched a complete heavy-duty carriage.
The gang who succeeded in the robbery got paid and most of them fled, but the revenge of the Harmony Chamber of Commerce followed.
Many gangsters didn't escape far enough, and they were caught by'evil dogs' negligently. According to the description of the survivors, the'evil dogs' acted very fast, the information was very good, and the equipment was particularly good.
No one knows why the Harmony Chamber of Commerce responded so quickly? But Victor Hugo obviously did not hesitate to protect his dignity and credibility. "
Powell didn't feel sorry for the damage of the gang, they were all mobs, swarming like goblins in battle.
But the tactics and equipment of the "evil dog" described on the scroll have attracted attention.
Those who escaped by chance mentioned that "evil dogs" generally use a light crossbow that can be fired quickly. The crossbow arrows it shoots are very small but extremely precise, and can easily penetrate leather armor within 20 to 30 meters.
This is not so good.
For spies who need flexibility, leather armor is the heaviest protection they can withstand. If there are light and fast long-range weapons that can penetrate leather armor, this is a great advantage in equipment.
Thinking about the wind forging machine in Harmony Village, Powell felt that he must pay attention to this news. "Fuqiangling" may really come up with such a powerful thing.
At the end of the scroll, the family wizard also mentioned the new order issued by Phil Longlegs.
The new patriarch is organizing the restoration army. He asked the spies lurking in Coldwind City to take action and catch a rebellious leader or important person, so as to show his abilities to his allies and demonstrate to the rebellious gang.
"Catch an enemy leader or important person?" Powell's headache was very painful. He filtered the rebellious candidates in his mind and found that none of them were easy to catch.
Before the evil worm believers also thought of using a similar method to obtain the secret of the forging machine. As a result, before they could do anything, he was slaughtered by Victor Hugo himself.
"This shows that we are not treated as secret agents. If you really want to tie up an important person, it is not the'villain dog' who is dispatched. Victor Hugo will personally chase us."
It is dangerous enough to spy on secrets, and it is even more fatal to tie someone up.
Powell ignored this. But he had a feeling that another group led by a family wizard would really consider this task. Because the price of Phils Long Legs is quite high.
"Damn, do these guys think they can do whatever they want like they did in the past?" Powell knew well that being a spy should be low-key and tolerant. "I have to be dragged by them."
Time slowly passed in annoyance, but the reply has not yet been completed.
Powell originally wrote a lot of content, trying to persuade his colleagues not to do stupid things. In an irritable mood, the tip of the pen broke and the paper was stained. He really didn't want to write it again.
Find a new quill pen, dip it in ink, and spread out a new piece of papyrus.
For the second time, Powell only briefly described his current situation, picking good news and replying as much as possible. He can't directly contact Phil Longlegs, all information depends on the wizard's familiar.
If only writing bad news like a funeral, Powell worried that he would be considered too incompetent and annoying. He no longer reminded his colleagues, but provided him with several options.
The written scroll was tied to the owl's ankle, and Powell had to take out a small bag and choose a magic gem to feed the beloved.
Otherwise, the familiar will not work, and will even tear off the paper roll tied to the ankle.
The small bag opened, and the owl stepped on its feet swaying from side to side, poking its head out to look into the bag. Then it made a cooing sound, as if laughing.
There are only a few very fine and irregular gems and a few gold and silver coins in the bag.
The gemstones are large and multi-faceted, pure, translucent and radiant. With these things in Powell's bag, even the Familiar dare to taunt him.
Powell picked a diamond smaller than a grain of broken rice and placed it on the table.
The Owl Familiar glanced, and shook his head contemptuously, still groaning in his mouth.
Powell was so angry that the damn bird actually disliked it. He took out another diamond, but the owl pet still shook his head.
Powell could only open his wallet and let the owl pick it by himself. As a result, the animal murmured, "Poor ghosts shouldn't learn from others to sabotage, it's so pitiful!"
Powell's lungs are going to explode!