In the rime forest more than 60 years ago, the team of Templar Knights braved the wind and snow to drive through the night. When the sky was getting brighter, the snow gradually became smaller.
Even if they are slowed down by the wind and snow, it is time to walk to the Khiva River... But they are still circling in the rime forest. Everyone can see that the way they came is different from the way they came.
Temple Knights are not good at jungle operations, let alone in the snowy night and early morning. The dense woods obscured the view, the sky was completely dark, and the knights completely deviated from the correct route, and they couldn't even tell the difference between east, west, north, and south. When they came, they brought a guide, but the guide died in the mage's tower.
None of you even brought a compass, and you didn't give me time to get it... Burris huddled in the prison car, sighing and exhaling a cloud of white air.
Even without tools, Burris has a way of telling directions. But the knight requires him not to cast spells at any time, so he can't help. Burris didn't mean to be angry on purpose. After all, getting lost was not good for him, and he really didn't dare to disobey orders anymore. He is afraid of the pain of flesh and blood, and even more afraid of being disabled because of it...
Although he can't cast spells, he can take the initiative to give some verbal suggestions. After all, he knows this land better than the knights. The barbarians of the ice field can walk out of the woods with their eyes closed. Boris can't reach this level, but he can sense the magic fluctuations in the air and help the knights avoid directions that may lurk monsters.
They managed to avoid some monsters, but were found by others.
First, the scouts discovered an abnormality: some creatures surrounded from far and near, outflanked from both sides, and rushed to the front of the team. This is obviously not a golem, let alone a wild beast. The wild beast will launch a surprise attack directly from behind.
As soon as he reported the news to the detachment leader, a loud battle cry erupted from the woods in front of the team. A large group of frost plain barbarians charged from the front.
This group of people is tall and strong, but the weapons in their hands are quite simple. The best are axes, more hoes and simple short spears, and some people carry shovels, iron pots, wooden sticks...
The knights were taken aback at first, and those who were too late to mount their horses were knocked to the ground, but soldiers with rich combat experience would not be crushed by this rough assault, and they quickly regrouped and started to fight back.
Facing long swords, chain hammers, and brave war horses, those aborigines holding farm tools and wearing animal skins were no match at all. The barbarians were forced back a little, and confronted the knights angrily. The leader of the detachment thought that these people would break up and flee under the disadvantage, but they did not back down.
The knights had heard a little about the aborigines living on the north bank of the Khiva River: they were a brave nomadic people, and they had been ruled like livestock since Yriel settled on the frost plains. They have their own set of codes of conduct. For example, sneak attacks from behind can only be used against animals when hunting, and they must attack human opponents head-on. Otherwise, it is a symbol of dishonor, so just now they gave up the fan-shaped encirclement from the rear and insisted on attacking from the front.
"What is that mage talking about?" The commander turned his head.
Burris leaned against the prison car and yelled loudly. The noise was too loud just now, and no one heard it. Now the knights could hear him clearly. He was yelling some unfamiliar pronunciations.
At first the leader of the detachment thought it was a spell, but the knight from the riverside village told him quietly that this was the dialect of the ice field, which was similar to the dialect on the south bank of the Khiva River, but not the same.
One of the tallest barbarians stood up, gritted his teeth, glanced at the knights, and said something. Then, a small woman emerged from the barbarians and translated the man's words in a common language with a slight accent: "The mage said that we should talk, and we should use a language that everyone understands, so let's talk."
The detachment leader bowed to the barbarian woman, and then looked at the tall leader: "We executed Yriel, which should be good news for you."
The woman continued to translate for both sides: "Of course, we are very happy that he is dead." She pointed to the prison car, "Now, you release him and give it to us, and we will leave immediately."
"You attacked us because of him?" The detachment leader looked back at Burris, "I understand, because he is Yriel's apprentice? You can rest assured that we will not let him escape, and he can no longer hurt It's up to you. I can't hand him over to you, he is our prisoner, and we will take him to the city of North Star for trial."
This passage is a bit long, and the woman has to break it into many short sentences before speaking to the leader. After hearing this, the leader shook his head vigorously, his tone was very excited, and his eyes seemed to burst into flames.
The woman translated it more restrainedly: "You have misunderstood. We are not going to kill that mage, he is our friend. You cannot arrest him."
The knights looked at each other in surprise. The woman looked at the prison car: "Only he smuggled us food and medicine. He was the only one who was kind to us. He killed my sister..."
"He killed your sister? Is this good for you?" The detachment leader suspected that the woman had a mental problem.
"If he doesn't kill her, she will become the monster's mother!" cried the woman. "A monster will grow in her stomach, torture her for months, and then tear her apart and crawl out! She must die as well!" "
At this time, the barbarians shouted loudly. What they yelled were all short sentences, and the woman kept translating for them, which sounded a bit messy: "He is a friend, he taught us to grow vegetables, Yriel dies, he can't die, give him to us, friend, no It's your fault, it's not your fault, you don't go to North Star City, we only want him, you will hurt him, let him go, let the mage go, he is not a prisoner, he goes somewhere else, he helps us, we help He, fighting for his friends..."
They became more and more excited, and everyone was full of murderous intent, as if they were about to rush forward at any time without stopping. The leader of the detachment tried to speak to them, but the woman stopped translating for him, and the barbarians drew closer, and the knights took up swords and shields again.
Suddenly, the barbarians stopped screaming. Burris yelled something, his voice weak and hoarse, but they all fell silent at once.
"Asha," Boris said to the woman, "it doesn't matter, you go away. I am willing to go with them."
The woman named Axia excitedly waved the short spear in her hand: "No! They treat you as a prisoner! We want to save you!"
"I'll be fine," the mage reassured. "They're going to take me to a warmer city. You see, I did work for Yriel, and I was a criminal. Asha, before you join Willa What did Willa do to you after you stole a lot of moose from the Horde?"
A Xia looked at the tall leader, probably he was that "Wella". "He... agreed to me joining his clan," Asha replied, "but I have to be a prisoner first, and I have to be observed until they trust me."
"Now I am the same way," Burris said, "I also have to be observed first, and I will be a prisoner first. When those people trust me, I will be free. Asha, don't worry, I will come back to see you in the future. "
Willa couldn't understand and was a little anxious, so Axia quickly translated for him. After listening, he looked at Boris with a painful expression, and asked a lot of questions in a babble, and the people around him also talked in a hurry. Burris understood without an interpreter, but he had to answer in the Common Tongue, lest the knights think he was signaling.
"When I come back, I'll bring you an antifreeze stone!" The mage shouted loudly so that everyone could hear, "Put it in the water bag so that the water won't freeze when it's cold. I'll also bring you magic flints for quick fires, so you'll each have one! What else do you want? Tell me and I'll remember it all! When I get back, I'll be a very Powerful Archmage, bring you many gifts... "
Asha translated his words. After hearing this, the barbarians shook their heads and started talking again. Judging from their expressions, they didn't care about any gifts, they were only anxious to know when the mage would return. After a while, everyone's voices weakened, and now only the leader Willa was still talking, and as he spoke, tears welled up from the corners of the strong man's eyes.
Burris said: "I won't be able to come back to see you for a long time. I need a lot of time... You have to be patient and take care. Although there is no White Tower on the ice field, there are still many dangers left. Be careful."
After listening to Asha's translation, the leader Willa gave an order softly. The barbarians backed away slowly, making way for the knights.
The clansmen escaped into the jungle silently, only Axia was still standing by the roadside, looking at the prison cart and the tired knights.
"Are you going to cross the river? Khiva River?" Asha shouted from behind the team. The knight walking at the back looked back at her, but did not speak to her.
Before running into the forest, she said one last thing: "Master! You have to protect them! Be careful of the Khiva River!"
Burris knew what she meant, but the knights looked blank.
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Now, Burris has returned to the tower in the Mountains of No Return, back to his daily research life.
On this day, while looking for old notes, he accidentally found a red leather rope. A nail-sized white stone is tied to the leather rope, and the symbol representing "Falcon's Eye" is engraved on the stone.
This is one of the gifts given to him by the aborigines in the north. It is said that it can make the wearer's eyes and ears clear, make his intuition precise, and can foresee all upcoming dangers.
Burris left Frostfield when he was twenty, and did not return for the first time until he was nearly forty.
At that time, he had already joined the Arcane Union, taught in Hilda for several years, and formed the Magic Materials Business Guild with several business partners... Besides these, he was also indispensable in the operation of the Gem Forest There are two countries and a free city-state willing to be his backing, so the city of North Star, which has always hated him, no longer bothers him.
During that trip, he brought several heavy wooden boxes full of two carriages, and hired a few mercenaries to help guard and escort the goods. It was summer, and there was no ice on the Khiva River. When crossing the river by boat, the mercenaries said to him worriedly: Master Mage, this business is not easy for you. The north of the Khiva River is the territory of the Frost Plains barbarians. Well, those people are poor and brutal, and no one knows what they can do.
When they actually met the Frostlanders, the mercenaries were speechless by the scene in front of them: the barbarian warriors lined up in two lines, opening the way for Burris' carriage as if welcoming a distinguished guest; , all the barbarian children can say "good day" in the common language; surrounded by everyone, a fat middle-aged woman walked up, holding Burris' hand, laughing and crying... Finally, they came to the largest room In the tent, the old chief who broke his leg because of hunting embraced the mage with tears in his eyes...
Their friend came back, and he really turned into a very powerful mage, and he really brought them a lot of gifts.
Boris arrived there in the afternoon, he stayed for one night, and returned to the south bank of the river with the mercenaries the next morning. Before leaving, the barbarians also gave him many gifts, such as pickled dried meat and wild fruit preserves, a whole piece of animal skin with good luster, and some small souvenirs made by ordinary people.
Thinking about it today, Burris felt a little sorry for those old friends. He actually doesn't like the taste of the Frost Plains people, so basically all the food they sent was given to the mercenaries; most of the animal skins and bone crafts they sent also disappeared... After all, so many years have passed, Burris' residence Changed many times.
Unexpectedly, there are still some small things left behind, such as this "Falcon's Eye" pendant that blesses people to avoid danger. Burris stared at it, unable to resist being lost in his memories of the North.
As Chief Willa got older, his brain gradually became less useful. Sometimes he couldn't even recognize his wife and children, but he still remembered the "mage friend" who was taken away by the knights... the petite and agile Asha back then Later, he was so fat that he became mighty, and with his clever mind, he became the chief's right-hand man...
Burris's recollection was interrupted by a bark. Earl Herolf stood outside the study, wagging his tail and tilting his head, looking at Burris eagerly, his little paws making a clicking sound.
Earl Herolf is really smart. He is only a few months old, and he already knows that he cannot enter the mage's study casually. Unless Boris went out, or told him to come in, he would not take a stray step.
"Why don't you go play with Lord Lott? Where is he?" Burris walked over and touched Earl Herolf. The covering muscles are also very strong.
The puppy turned and walked towards the floating dish with its hips twisted, looking back at Burris every few steps. Boris knew that he was going to follow up by himself, so he casually put the "Falcon's Eye" leather strap on his body, and followed the dog onto the floating saucer.
When he reached the floor of the living room, Earl Herolf cleverly grabbed the ground and stopped the floating disc. Boris entered the corridor with it, and found that there was a sudden fragrance permeating the entire floor.
The door of the lounge was closed tightly, and Earl Herolf sat obediently by the door and called twice as if signaling a signal.
The blessing of the "Falcon's Eye" pendant seemed to be a bit effective—Boris suddenly had a very bad premonition.