More than sixty years ago, in the cold forest in the early morning, Boris held the hand extended to him by the man in black.
The two walked slowly and silently for a long time, and Boris suddenly remembered that he hadn't asked the man in black what his name was.
"I...how do I call you?"
The man in black was deep in thought, as if this question was difficult to answer. After a while, he said in a smiling voice, "Last time, someone called me Death."
But "Reaper" does not exist. Burris is familiar with various religious and theological books, and he knows that "Reaper" is just a literary image, not a real thing.
Among the real gods, there is only one who is related to death and has left footprints in the world, and that is Otarot who welcomes the dead. Obviously this person cannot be Otarot.
There is another god related to death—the Guardian of the Black Lake. He is a secondary god who monitors the river of souls. He once stationed in the Black Lake in front of the Hall of the Dead. This person is definitely not the Black Lake Guard. It is said that before the separation of the planes in ancient times, the guards of the Black Lake had already died in the war.
Boris didn't raise any doubts, so he just took "Reaper" as a nickname, and the man in black probably didn't want to reveal his true identity.
"I've seen you... in the prison car, I seem to have seen you..."
"Yes, I saw you then," said Death, "but I didn't follow you all the time, because... well, that forest is really wonderful, and even I encountered many 'surprises'."
No wonder. No wonder Boris felt that the dangers encountered along the way were less than expected... The man in black robes has been roaming around them, helping them clear up many crises that have not yet been triggered.
"Why are you helping us?" Burris asked.
"No particular reason, just looking for something to do."
Just after answering, the god of death suddenly turned around and quickly caught Burris's suddenly limp body.
During this journey, the god of death only gently pulled his wrist, and never grasped his fingers hard. When his feet were weak, the god of death didn't hold his hand, but hugged him directly.
After being caught, Burris realized that he almost fell. When he just woke up, he was in good condition, but before he had gone far, he was exhausted again.
The man in black took out some dry rations, which he had taken from the dead knights. He sat down, let the mage lean on his arms, poured a little water from the water bag to moisten the dry food, and then broke it into small pieces to feed Burris.
It was true that Burris hadn't eaten for a long time, but he didn't feel hungry at all. He was shaking badly, and his mind was becoming more and more unclear. After barely eating a little, he had to close his eyes and cover his mouth, resisting the urge to spit them out again.
Leaning in the arms of the god of death, Boris thought in a daze: You are not the god of death, you are not even an undead... because you obviously have body temperature.
Death put his arms around him and sighed in his ear.
"Little mage, you can rest, but you can't die. Do you understand?"
"I know, I won't die." Boris' voice was weak, but he answered firmly, "Go to Shandonia... maybe... go to the south... I have to start again, in the future... my own mage tower..."
As he spoke, he couldn't hear his own voice. He fell asleep again, sleeping more peacefully than last night.
Instead of having nightmares, he dreamed of a bustling city, a quiet countryside, and a slightly noisy but well-ordered academy... He dreamed that he lived in a tower with countless books, and discussed magic theories with the apprentices around him every day …He dreamed that he was standing in the sun with a pair of flexible and healthy hands; he made many friends and explored mysterious areas with them; Gone forever; he returned to the Frostlands with many gifts, and Willa and Asha greeted him happily...
The god of death in the black robe straightened his cloak and touched Boris' forehead.
When he removed his palm, he found that the little mage was smiling slightly in his sleep.
===========================
Although the island was damp and the shacks were simple, Burris and Lott slept soundly. If it weren't for the gray mountain spirit shouting outside, they might have slept until noon.
Boris saw Lot's face as soon as he opened his eyes. The distance between the two was so close that his eyes couldn't focus.
Fortunately, Lotte was not fully awake, and was still muttering and squirming with his eyes closed. Burris sat up quickly, brushed his hair casually a few times, and pushed Lott awake solemnly.
Hui Shanjing prepared two buckets of clean water under the shack, as well as some dried fruits and nuts. While the two weak and sleepy guests were simply washing up, the gray mountain spirit was ready for the boat to set sail.
After everything was taken care of, the matriarch read out her blessings and watched the two guests leave the settlement. It took them several hours to walk through the jungle to the harbor on the other side of the island, where they saw what was said to be the "sturdiest" schooner.
It is not too far from here to Suxi Island. It is said that it is only a half-day voyage. The grandson and granddaughter of the matriarch are responsible for sailing the boat, a pair of big brothers and sisters with earthy hair. It is said that they are not only the best sailors in the tribe, but also Storytellers at their finest.
Lott was very happy to hear the story, although the story of the gray mountain spirit was not very good. The strange thing is that the siblings didn't say a word after setting sail, just doing what they were doing silently. They were not like that on shore, they always told stories right where they were needed.
During the voyage, Boris has been hiding in the cabin... It is said to be a cabin, but it is actually just a wooden shack with air leakage everywhere. He was seasick. He had been on a bigger ship before, and he could walk on the deck like flying without any discomfort... But this kind of boat is different. It was torn apart.
Lott got into the cabin and looked at Boris' pale face distressedly. "Maybe it's better for you to go out," Lott suggested. "It's bumpy anyway, and it might be more comfortable to look at the sea."
Burris nodded. In fact, he didn't know if it would be better outside, anyway, he didn't feel comfortable anywhere.
Lott sympathetically helped him get out of the cabin. The two sat on the deck with their backs against the shack, looking at the younger sister Gray Mountain Spirit who was steering the helm ahead, and the elder brother who had just adjusted the sail.
There was something odd about the brief conversation between the siblings, and though dizzy, Burris picked up some words keenly.
So he took the initiative to ask: "Good sailor, did you say a storm?"
"There is no storm," Brother Hui Shanjing scratched his head in embarrassment, "Don't be afraid, there is no storm, not the storm, but the shadow of the storm."
"Shadow of the Storm?"
Burris chatted with the sailor (very ineffectively) for a while, and gradually understood the meaning of "shadow of the storm" and why the brother and sister were slightly nervous when they boarded the ship.
It is not surprising that there will be storms in the sea area of Quintilla in certain seasons, but since then, it seems that something else is hidden in the storms, and the island residents have an additional enemy—the surf murloc.
Jingtao murlocs are what humans call them, and Gray Mountain Spirit calls them "human sharks". This is a kind of strong-bodied underwater humanoid creature. Their physique is a circle larger than that of gray mountain elves, their body fat is very thick, their teeth are like sharks, they have lungs and gills, and they also have a special skin that can be adjusted naturally. stress on the body. But this race has a very low IQ and is basically unable to communicate with other races, so some people think that they should be considered animals, not humanoid races.
Jingtao murlocs live in the vast oceans and trenches, and usually seldom come to the near sea. Strangely, about a hundred years ago, a whole group of murlocs followed the storm to Quintilia, and even approached the coastal area of Black Cliff Castle.
They travel in groups, attacking all boats they encounter, and occasionally come ashore to harm coastal fishermen. In order to expel the murlocs, the coastal human army and the Quintilla elves united together, and it took about a year to completely drive the murlocs back to the ocean.
This battle was very strange and tragic, so it left a name in history. However, there are two sides to everything. Since then, humans and island elves have cooperated more and more frequently, and gradually developed a stable business route.
Later, some researchers believed that the abnormal behavior of the murlocs was due to a series of celestial phenomena and geological movements: a submarine earthquake occurred in the habitat of the murlocs. A full moon can drive many creatures into a frenzy, prompting a series of acts of violence for no apparent reason.
There have also been records of murloc attacks in the longer history, and each time was accompanied by a red full moon and sea quakes of varying sizes in the far sea, but in the past, those were isolated sporadic incidents, and there had never been large-scale incidents. invasion.
When the war first took shape, the first ship to be killed sank near Suhi Island, and the location where it sank was the "Shadow of the Storm".
There is also a reason for this naming, and the reason goes back sixty years or so from the Great War. Back then, an elf fishing boat encountered a storm and capsized and sank near Sushi Island. Years later, when another boat was attacked by murlocs, it happened to be at the same coordinates. Many residents of Quintilia believed that it was a cursed area and named it "Shadow of the Storm".
Because that area is unlucky, the Huishanjing brothers and sisters planned to go around. They were talking about it just now.
But what really made them nervous was not the sea area, but the legendary murlocs. Not long ago, two gray mountain spirits' boats went out to sea and never returned. Others in the tribe said that they encountered sharks or the boat ran aground, but the brothers and sisters didn't think so. They helped the two fishermen repair the boat and knew the condition of the boat. They thought it was the murlocs coming again.
The Huishanjing sister who was at the helm was just listening at first, and when she heard that the guests and her brother were almost chatting, she pointed to the distance and added: "Suxi Island knows, Master Haiyuanta knows."
"Why?" Burris asked.
"There are a lot of elves patrolling, and there are many boats. Usually there are not many, but now there are many. Also, the master of Haiyuan Tower understands, and the master understands a lot."
They were referring to the master of the Tower of the Abyss, Master Morvia.
Burris looked at Lott, who looked blankly at the horizon.
Strange to say, why didn't Lott interrupt today? Also, before they talked about the Tower of the Abyss, why did Lott say that he didn't want to contact the mage in the tower? He is very curious about the Five Towers Peninsula, and he also likes to hear all kinds of novel spells. How could he have no interest in Quintilla's elf mages
Pushing forward about one hundred and sixty years, it seems that it was the last time the Skeleton Lord left the Swamp of the Dead.
Do you know the master? Burris wanted to ask, but didn't know where to start.
As he hesitated, a shock hit the bottom of the boat. The gray mountain spirit brothers and sisters screamed at the same time, and Lot immediately hugged the mage beside him tightly, for fear that he would roll off the deck into the sea.
"Why..." Before Burris could ask the complete sentence, the hull of the ship was hit several times one after another.
Disturbingly, each impact came from a different direction, as if something surrounded the boat from below. The collisions became more and more intensive and frequent, and the intensity fluctuated, as if they were looking for the weakest part of the hull...
- Could it be such a coincidence
Boris has never seen the Murloc of the Storm with his own eyes, but has only read related articles in books. What happened to the small boat now was exactly the same as the case of the murloc attack back then.