The Swordsman of Faerûn

However, the old Dicks still gave a few praises from time to time, the little girl Le Le talked more vigorously, and some secrets that shouldn't be said gradually came out of this little talker, but no one told her. Except for the youngest kid, really.

Although the story is a bit messy, Old Dick was amazed by the little girl's imagination. Dragons, frost giants, orcs, elves, wind horses, werewolves, snow apes, tribal wars, any one of these elements is enough to make ordinary people The child thought about it for several days, but the little girl in front of him was able to combine them into a plausible adventure story, which has to be said to be a shocking "miracle".

The old farmer smiled admiringly and said, "Misha'er, you are such a clever child. When you grow up, you will definitely be an outstanding troubadour."

Troubadours are a special existence in Faerun. They are respected and loved. Even evil people will not easily hurt them. This is not due to their strength.Because from ancient times to the present, I don’t know how many heroes and great legends have been blown out by the mouth of the troubadour.

Chapter 85 Panic

William and the others didn't stay at Old Dick's house for too long, because Misha and Yasuna caused a lot of trouble.The reason is simple, Misha'er revealed Yasuna's identity in her story, a real frost giant, and a leader. Although the old Dicks didn't take it seriously, someone did.

Little Monisa, this innocent little guy took Misha'er's story seriously (it was true), and she bravely raised her objection in front of everyone: "You are wrong! Yasuna is not the leader of the frost giants , Fenya is!"

For this little guy who came out to question her, Mi Sha'er was very angry, she jumped up and pointed at the little guy with all her teeth and claws: "Little guy! Mi Sha'er is the one who tells the story, I think Yasuna is it. "

"No! Feniya is the one, Yasuna is too short!" Faced with Misha'er's "female power", the little guy did not back down, but firmly climbed up the table to fight for "reason".Phineya, who was concentrating on the bacon on the side, heard someone mentioning herself, raised her head and showed a silly smile, and then continued to kill the food in front of her.

"Yasuna is tall, Fenya..." Misha'er couldn't continue talking, Yasuna's normal state is human appearance, compared to the tall Feniya, it must be Just add another chair.

Misha'er said a little annoyed: "Hmph! Wait for me to prove it to you." Then she jumped off the stool and ran to Yasuna's side, took the arm of the leader of the female frost giant and swayed coquettishly: "Yasuna How about transforming once? How dare they doubt your identity..."

Misha'er dragged Yasuna to act coquettishly, not to mention the others, but William had a feeling of hitting his head against the wall: When did this little girl learn to sow discord?I think what a good child he was!But now... Meow, it was the one who suffered a thousand knives who led my pure sister into ruin! (Exaggerated inner monologue)

The old ancestors had a good saying, "People who are not of our race must have different minds, and barbarians are unreasonable." In William's view, Yasuna is an unreasonable heterogeneous woman, and he doesn't know that this poor woman What was in his mind, he agreed to the little girl's request without hesitation, and directly transformed into a giant nearly thirteen feet tall in front of Old Dick's grandparents and grandchildren.

Pillar legs, big buttocks, huge breasts, feet like a dustpan, a head like a bucket, a big mouth with ribs and teeth, the terrifying shape of the leader of the female frost giant, who has grown into a giant, frightened a few "hillies" who have never seen the world, "boom With a sound, Old Dick and his chair fell to the floor, while Maggie huddled on the chair helplessly, trembling and speechless.The two innocent children opened their mouths wide and looked up at the giant whose shoulders were against the ceiling. Their big clear eyes were full of surprise and surprise. One or two strands of crystal clear long strings hung down from their soft chins on the table. Up without knowing it.

"Frost... Frost... Frost giants? How is it possible!..." Old Dick finally guessed Yasuna's true identity. After all, only the frost giants' skin can be so smooth in the giant state, whether it is humans or elves. Whether other races use [Giant Transformation], or other types of native giants, they will inevitably suffer from enlarged pores and rough skin. Of course, the cold and frosty air that reaches the bone marrow is the basis for Old Dick's real judgment (in fact That's the gift of the frost giants).

"Get out of...my house, evil...giant! Gods in the sky, save poor old Dick's family!" The terrified old Dick failed to get up from the ground even after trying several times , he sat on the floor and wailed in despair.

William and the others obviously didn't expect the reaction of the old farmer's family to be so fierce, but they, as strong people, couldn't understand that when those evil monsters that were incomparable in legends appeared around them, it meant nothing to ordinary people. wearing something.

William gave Yasuna a displeased look, and said to Old Dick with an apologetic smile: "Mr. Old Dick, I am very sorry for my family's reckless behavior! Please..." William was thinking There was no malice in saying that he and his party were together, but Old Dick, who was already overly frightened, was no longer able to be moved by words.

"Get out! Get out of my house, you evil monsters! Get out of my old Dick's house..." The old farmer howled so hoarsely that even the two young and bewildered little guys were scared Weeping, but old Dick's wife, Maggie, has been frightened and passed out.

Misha and Miluna were also frightened by the frantic old Dick. They hid behind William's back timidly with pale little faces, looking at the mad old man in a little bewilderment.Phineya ate the last piece of bacon on the plate, clapped her hands, stood up and walked to William, looked at old Dick with a puzzled face for a while, and then turned her attention back to her mother, only the disbelief in her eyes The meaning of understanding was replaced by envy and yearning, but this silly girl's admiration was huge.

But Yasuna felt a little displeased with the clamor of the old man. She said in a very heavy and hoarse voice: "This cowardly bastard is really disgusting! William, do you want to kill them?"

William snorted and said angrily: "Shut up! Don't you think it's not enough to make a mess? You're such a poor woman, change back and leave!" He walked out of the farmhouse with the two little girls, Phinea He glanced at his mother and followed him out.But before the four of them had gone far, they heard a "cracking" sound behind them. When William looked back, he almost turned his nose in anger. The wicked woman Yasuna actually broke the roof and half of the wall of the farmhouse arbitrarily. , directly broke out of the wall.

He entertained his group with good intentions, and he didn't want a woman on his side who "didn't do enough to reveal things (or more accurately, she was secretive)" not only threatened the other party, but even demolished his house. Wherever he puts it, he will inevitably be suspected of revenge and white-eyed wolf. William really has no face to stay here. He can only leave Old Dick's home with his family in a mess.

Yasuna's [Giant Transformation] has a certain time limit. When she returned to a normal human body, William used a cane on the side of the road to let the leader of the female frost giant understand what the old Chen family is. family law.

As dusk fell, William brought Phinea, two little girls, and Yasuna, who was not allowed to use spells to recover from the whip wound for a day, and a group of five staggered into a small river valley, and saw smoke rising from the kitchen not far ahead. At the same time, there is a fence wall around an open field.

In front of the intersection, there is a street sign like that, as if it is surrounded by private pastures or something.In fact, behind the road sign is a large piece of mud, overgrown with weeds.The road sign reads: "Welcome to the Golden Horn." A round yellow horn is also painted below.

Chapter 86 Misha didn't see

Let’s talk about Old Dick’s house. The son and grandson who came back from the field were staring at the half-collapsed farmhouse in a daze, and asked blankly, “What happened? Could it be that a ferocious mammoth ran into our house?”

"Not mammoths, but giants, the most cunning and evil frost giants, who destroyed my house, ate my food, and terrorized poor Maggie and Cooper (the dirt dog that guards the house)." Kind of The nervous old Dick was very excited and explained to his returning family what happened half a day ago. Of course, in his mouth, William and the five became evil monsters and liars with ulterior motives.

His son said with a serious face: "If this is the case, then we must inform Lord Toga Ainuwen of the monastery as soon as possible. Only those mysterious mages are capable of dealing with the terrifying frost giant. It's just..." Old Dick said There was a question in the son's mind that he didn't say, why those evil visitors just destroyed the house, but didn't hurt his family. He didn't think that only two old people and two children could drive away any monsters.

"It's nothing but, Basso, you ride to the monastery overnight, and tell the neighbors along the way to be careful." Old Dick said loudly.

Then Old Dick's son Basso rode a draft horse to report to the Monastery of the Mother Earth, and the others began to collect the broken pieces of the farmhouse.Old Dick was cleaning up the splinters from the floor and thinking about moving the home near the Abbey after a while.After all, the reputation of the monastery and its leader, Toga Ainuwen, has become more and more famous in recent years, gradually attracting most of the farmers to move their homes to the monastery, and now it is almost turning into a small town.

Old Dick was thinking about what kind of house to build so that the poor family could afford it.Suddenly, the eldest grandson exclaimed: "Grandfather! Mom! Come and see what this is?"

Old Dick and his family heard the words and looked around, only to see the eldest grandson standing in front of the previous table, stroking something excitedly.When the old farmer took a closer look, he found that a fiery red gemstone was inlaid on the wooden tabletop, which seemed to have been pressed down by life, and that position was exactly where William was sitting.

A model of a carved wooden horn painted in gold was hung in front of the towering wooden gate, and behind it were several stone houses that were smoking. It seemed that William and the others were going to spend the night here tonight.

They walked carefully through the muddy field and came to the door of an inn.A bored little boy was sitting at the door, peeling potatoes with a knife, with a stone roller under his feet, grinding pepper for seasoning, and the peeled potatoes were thrown into a wooden bucket filled with water one by one , At the same time, the boy was still watching to see if there were any passing passengers on the road.

The boy was very surprised and looked at William and the others who suddenly appeared. Obviously, he was very interested in the special strangers of these members. He put down the knife and half-peeled potatoes in his hand, stopped the stone roller, picked up He picked up a short wooden stick and tapped the guest gong next to his elbow twice, and shouted loudly: "Father, there are guests coming!" Then he tried to put on a serious look and nodded to William and the five, leading the guests Go into the inn.

The room in the inn was filled with a special smell of evening trees, which seemed to cover up a certain sour smell. There seemed to be a stove on the left in front of the front, and there were bursts of voices from there.Looking at the situation inside the house, William thought for a moment that he was in the woods again.This room uses a lot of tree trunks as pillars. The light in the room is dim, the floor is slate, the gaps are filled with sawdust, and there are many small hard-shelled insects running around.There are still some old discarded bed boards next to the corner of the house, and there are many scars on them from the fire at some time.

The place smelled like a brewery, with the sour smell of distiller's lees everywhere, and the windows were shut tightly except for a crack in which light let in the air.Looking out from that gap, there are wine barrels as many as small mountain buns outside.The window was opened suddenly, and a wrinkled face with two thick brows appeared in front of William, and he said with a tired voice: "Five people? Came here on foot? Want to have a meal, Have another good night's sleep?"

William nodded, and the other party said rudely: "Okay, just stay here. Two silver coins per bed. Dinner is also two silver coins per person. For each glass of wine, there is an extra copper dime. There is an extra charge for showering too. The bar is on the left front, watch your bags and children yourself. Also, I remind you that if anyone dares to use a knife on my property, I will throw them out and not give them Weapons, let them stay outside with bare hands in the wild to face the wandering wolves. Do you understand?" The rough-faced shopkeeper raised his thick furry arms to show his strength, but he looked at William That figure, which was stronger than himself, and Phineya, who was taller behind William, gave up this plan a little discouraged.

Perhaps feeling ashamed of his cowardly behavior, the shopkeeper pretended to be vicious and asked: "Do you have a name? I don't entertain guys with unknown origins here. By the way, I don't have a big enough bed for the big guy behind you." Little girl, I'm afraid she'll have to sleep on the floor, is she a giant?"

"William, William Chen! They are my family. We came from Silvermoon City on the banks of the Raven River, and we are going to West Combe." William didn't care about the slightly bad attitude of the shopkeeper. To him, it was just a Insignificant little people.It is said that there is such a fallacy in most places in Faerun that a character with a complete surname and first name is a noble existence worthy of respect, whether he is a human, elf, dwarf, orc, shapeshifter or even a demon, and others Inhuman intelligence exists.A long time ago, William planned to use the last name of his previous life as his name in this life, but he never found a suitable opportunity.

The other party nodded, seemingly satisfied with William's attitude, and said, "My name is Delton, and I repaired this place myself. There are bread, candles, and cheese on the mantel shelf. Go and pour yourself a glass of wine, and talk to Ruth. Tell me what you want, she is preparing soup over there." Then the face disappeared, and the sound of moving a large wooden barrel came from outside the window.

William and the others then walked into the bar, where many unfamiliar faces raised their heads with vigilance and looked at them curiously.The five people who were used to seeing big scenes didn't care at all, they found an empty table and sat down. Ruth, the proprietress and cook, was very diligent and brought a plate of cheese and a small dish of mustard, and served Putting some carved wooden cups on the table, he asked, "Would you like to drink something? I have sherry and homemade sweet berry sour here."

William put some mustard sauce on a piece of cheese, tasted it, and said to the two little girls: "Don't touch the sauce, it's a bit spicy!" Unfortunately, it was a little late, and the two little guys were already teary-eyed. He opened his tongue, but was numb by the spicy taste of mustard.

"Have any honey? Get some more if you have it. And by the way, some home-brewed sour you call it." Children were not used to mustard, so William had to ask Ruth for some that the little ones could eat.

Ruth wiped her greasy hands vigorously on the coarse cloth apron she was wearing, nodded and said with a smile: "There is honey, but I need to add more money."

William put out an ancient gold coin on the table, and Ruth immediately ran back to the kitchen excitedly. After a while, she ran back with a honey pot and a long-necked iron pot. William pushed the gold coin to the female cook, and said: "Is there any meat that can be eaten?"

Ruth took the gold coin beautifully, put it in front of her eyes and carefully looked at it, then carefully stuffed it into the pocket under the apron, and said respectfully: "I just received three grouse from the Orion yesterday, would you like to have a visit?" only?"

William nodded his head and said: "I want all three, do it carefully, and then settle the accounts together, and your money will be indispensable. By the way, it's better to have some hot soup."

"There will be hot potato soup later, and I'll bring it to you as soon as it's ready." Ruth smiled and offered her hospitality, and suddenly there were a few laughs behind her: "Ms. Ruth, dare to seduce me in front of you here." Man, watch out for Delton's fists at night! Hahaha—”

As soon as Ruth's face changed, she turned around and cursed angrily.William turned his head to look, but there was a group of men sitting at a table, wearing leather armor with weapons pinned to their belts.Two of them were dressed in rags, had beards, and looked fierce. Each was equipped with a very old sword. There were a lot of things hanging from top to bottom, such as clanging cups, knives, mallets, and other small things. Tools, like two moving grocery stores, are the ones making fun of Ruth, a group of mercenaries who live everywhere.

Not far from these mercenaries, there was a group of burly men and women in overalls and torn boots, all of them were sweating, their bodies were dirty, their faces looked tired, but they also had funny smiles on their faces.Well, this should be the local farmer, who came to have dinner before going to bed.

A room full of people were eating, talking and laughing, and Misha'er, who was dipping cheese in honey, suddenly said, "William, Yasuna is using spells to heal 'marks (whip marks)'!" William's eyes widened. With a stare, Yasuna hurriedly dismissed the [Healing Technique] in her hand, stuck out her tongue at William with a low eyebrow, obediently picked up the wooden cup and pretended to drink.

When William stopped paying attention, Yasuna glared at the little girl fiercely, and said angrily in a low voice, "Who is this old lady getting whipped for? You little heartless person, you actually sued me..."

Misha'er lowered her head and said, "But, it was William who made Misha'er look at you."

Yasuna said: "Then won't you pretend you didn't see it?"

"What if Brother William asks?"

"Then just say you didn't see it."

"Okay, I get it now."

After a while, Misha'er suddenly said again: "Brother, Misha'er didn't see Yasuna using spells!" Yasuna, who was quietly casting [healing technique] on herself, was embarrassed...

Chapter 87 Destroyers and Protectors on the Golden Fields

The leader of the female frost giant was lying on the slab in a state of embarrassment, her buttocks were pushed up indecently, while Misha'er stood beside her tearfully holding her little head, staring at Yasuna, Milu Na lay on a blanket and teased the drowsy cat, but Phinea and William were nowhere to be seen. Only the faint groans from the bushes in the distance indicated their whereabouts.

To be honest, sleeping in the wilderness is definitely not the wish of a few idiots, but this is the trouble they asked for.

The cause of the matter is not very complicated. After the Erebes incident, William finally realized that his perception of this world was wrong, especially the women in this world. None of the women he met was easy to get along with. .Because of the existence of female gods and magic, women here do not have to rely solely on men to survive. Love, marriage, childbirth, and labor are no longer the only options. Female hunters, farmers, scholars, mages, officials, priests, and lords Abound, even robbers and bandits are not uncommon.

After thinking about it for a while, William is convinced that he must not be soft on a woman who pushes her nose and face, and that the Confucian ethical culture of "Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Constant Principles" passed down from his ancestors must not be lost.As far as the two wives around William, Feniya is okay, except for being a little taller, William is very satisfied in other aspects; but only the girl Yasuna, William has been patient for a long time, the so-called "three days" Don't fight, go to the house to expose the tiles", that is this kind of dishonest woman, so with the help of the old Dick's house demolition incident, the first meal of "rattan noodles" fell on Yasuna smoothly.

Just because Misha was involved, William only took a few lashes to settle the matter, but the focus was on the subsequent punishment.William knew that Yasuna was not a submissive master. Although she was smart and cunning, she was far from the silver-haired sisters in some respects, so she naturally fell into William's "wife training plan". In the routine.

But what William didn't expect was that the woman was so rebellious that she turned against him on the spot, and the two fought in the golden horn inn.William's strength is undeniable, this is undeniable, but Yasuna still can't see where William is stronger than herself. In terms of strength, she is not as strong as herself, in terms of body shape (after transformation), in terms of magical attainments, and even more so. It is the distance from the Spine of the World to the Sea of ​​Falling Stars, except for a slightly sharper "short blade".

Without actually doing it, Yasuna always felt that William's ability lies in his knife, just like Phinea is to Thunderfrost.Before getting Thunder Frost, even the weakest frost giant could bully her poor and small daughter, but with Thunder Frost, Phineya can almost look down upon the entire Omuir tribe.Yasuna attributed Phinea's growth to the sharpness of Thunderfrost, but she didn't know how much the half-giant had suffered under William's hands before it became enlightened.

As soon as she did it, Yasuna understood why her sister, who was always vengeful, suffered a big loss at the hands of William. When facing William's beating, she only felt that she had become a stupid baby who was cursed by slowness. Obviously seeing that William's speed is not very fast, but he can't keep up with his movements and rhythm at all.The aggrieved leader of the female frost giant even blessed herself with all the buff spells she could use, but she still couldn't escape William's deliberate beating. Yasuna was so angry that she could only vent her anger to the surrounding people. Obstructing the eyes, the coffee table of the Golden Horn Inn was turned into ruins under the ravages of two "inhuman giants".

Yasuna's shame and indignation almost reached the limit, because every time William attacked the thickest part of her body - the buttocks, for a hero with dignity, this was the bare contempt!humiliation!In the end, the Frost Giant (not the Frost Giant), who lost his mind, completely broke out the power of ice, intending to take revenge with the help of talent and supernatural power. Unfortunately, Yasuna forgot that beside them, there is a big killer that specifically targets magic power - Corner of Cole.

Yasuna, who had temporarily lost her magical power, was like meat on the chopping board to William, and she was completely allowed to be slaughtered by him. In the end, her arrogance was completely digested and she turned into a tame little woman, who was dragged away from the chaotic river valley by the man.

For the owner and residents of The Golden Horn, William's family is a group of villains and catastrophes. It is like a tiger and a leopard.

After several "guiltful" saboteurs left, a fast horse rushed to the monastery of the Mother Earth in the dark, because this time William "forgot" to leave the "compensation fee", and the Delton family went to the monastery again. Not daring to speak, he could only go to the protector of the Golden Field to appeal.

When the leader of the monastery, Reverend Toga Ainuwen, was overjoyed when he received the appearance of an evil giant in the Golden Fields.Over the past few years, Pastor Ainuwen has been working hard to expand the monastery's reputation, in order to legitimately obtain the right to rule this piece of land favored by Chauntia, and then control the most fertile granary in the entire Sword Coast region.

At the very beginning, before the monastery was established, the priest of Château had sent people to lobby the scattered farmers in the wilderness to preach the teachings of the Mother Earth Goddess, but the effect was minimal. After all, no one was willing to work hard. The harvest from labor is handed over to others.

By chance, a few wandering adventurers gave Pastor Ainuwen great inspiration.The story is very old-fashioned. When Ainuwen was rejected by the farmer again and was about to return disappointed, a group of foreign adventurers with evil intentions raided the farm. The servants were killed, the farm was set on fire, and a son was also in rebellion. was mutilated.Just as the farmer watched desperately that his wife and daughter were about to be abused, Pastor Ainuwen appeared in time. This powerful follower of the goddess of the earth killed all the thugs and rescued the farmer's family who were on the verge of extinction. Harvested the friendship of this family.

Soon the story of Pastor Ainuwen saving the farmer's family spread in the Golden Field, but few people bought the account of the pastors, but since then, there have been more accidents in the Golden Field, wandering mercenaries, bandits, Looting and stealing goblins and strange monsters gradually increased in this land. They harassed the scattered farms from time to time, and even a few remote farms were wiped out.

During this period, the believers of the Goddess of the Earth, who were running around, helped the suffering farms resist the harassment of these outsiders countless times, and some even gave their lives for it. The reputation among them is getting higher and higher.However, there are more and more bandits in the field, and their strength is getting stronger and stronger. They even form gangs, and a small number of priests and warriors are becoming more and more powerless to contend.

In view of this, Pastor Toga Ainuwen gathered all the priests and warriors wandering in the golden field to form a powerful bandit suppression team to take the initiative to clean up the bandits and monsters wandering in the field.In front of these warriors blessed by the gods, the invincible bandits and monsters were like fertile snow pouring soup, butter under hot knives, vulnerable to a single blow, and were wiped out in a short time, only a few fish that slipped through the net did not into climate.

After Haiyan Heqing, the "just and selfless" Pastor Ai Niuwen automatically disbanded the outstanding bandit suppression team without saying a word, but it made the restless farmers feel uneasy. He breathed a sigh of relief, which also made his reputation on the golden field even more prosperous.

But the good times didn't last long. With the disbandment of the bandit suppression team, the bandits and monsters who had vanished appeared again, and the golden field once again fell into turmoil and restlessness. As a last resort, the farmers had to plead with Ainuwen The pastor came out again, and reassembled the warriors to form a battle group to wipe out the "tumor" in the field.After a lot of efforts by the wargroups, the golden field regained its tranquility, but when Pastor Ainuwen was about to disband the team again, the traumatized people begged Ainuwen and his wargroup to keep it as a part of this land. The protectors of the land, they built a monastery for the priests in the best place in the wilderness, and promised to donate a certain amount of property to the monastery every year.

In the past few years since the establishment of the monastery, Pastor Toga Ainuwen has done a very good job. Every once in a while, he will take his priests and soldiers on a tour of the field to clean up those that may threaten the farm. and the instability of people's safety.Just the year before last, with the help of a large number of "warriors" recruited temporarily, and with the help of an archmage from Waterdeep City, Pastor Ainuwen defeated a powerful orc tribe that was about to invade this place.

It's just that this kind of foreign invasion and large-scale turmoil cannot happen frequently, otherwise it is not an accident but a conspiracy, and small-scale bandits and troublemakers are more reasonable targets.

However, the golden field has been unusually quiet and peaceful recently. The troublemakers and the homeless seem to have learned to abide by the law. The slightly larger beasts are silent, and even the sick people who seek medical treatment have disappeared. This quiet day makes the priests of the monastery almost moldy.

After learning that the house of Old Dick's family was destroyed by the legendary frost giant, Pastor Ainuwen personally led a dozen of his men and rode to Old Dick's farm overnight. It is a good opportunity to proclaim the glory of God and the prestige of the monastery.

After a long time, the messenger of the "Golden Horn" also came to the monastery, but at this time the monastery did not have enough manpower to send out. In desperation, a left-behind priest rushed to Old Dick's farm together with the messenger. , because judging from the messenger's description, the murderer who destroyed the "Golden Horn" and the giant who destroyed Old Dick's house seemed to be the same group.

Chapter 88 I'm helping him

"What a beautiful treasure! It's so fascinating." The old Dick's family surrounded the table and looked up at the dazzling ruby. Old Dick swore he had never seen such a beautiful ruby. I have seen an onyx on the body of a warlock, but it is much inferior to this.Other than that, he only heard that the archmage who came from Waterdeep City the year before was wearing several magic rings inlaid with rubies.

In the land of Faerun, gems have a very special status. Precious metals such as gold and silver may depreciate due to different eras or regions, but gems will never lose their value because they not only It can make beautiful craft ornaments, and it is also an indispensable magic material for releasing various spells and making magic utensils. Like the ancient Netheril gold coins, gems of various colors are also held in the strategic warehouse (treasury) of each force Things.

In front of the eye-catching gemstones, Old Dick's hands stopped shaking, and Maggie, who was a little nervous after being frightened, stopped shaking, and no one thought about cleaning up the broken farmhouse. With a dry voice: "Is she real? It can't be an evil magic illusion, right?"

Old Dick slapped away the little black hand who thought his youngest grandson Aaroni was going to touch the gem secretly, shaking his messy beard and said: "The great mother of the earth, Chauntia, can testify that there are no ridiculous tricks and tricks to deceive the old man. Dick's eyes, I'm pretty sure she's real. Look at the color... get a dagger here, boy, we've got to pry her out, ugly wooden boards don't deserve the gorgeous color."

"How valuable is she?" Old Maggie couldn't move her eyes from the gemstone.

Old Dick said excitedly: "It's hard to say! But she can at least get four of the best heavy horses, or build ten more farmhouses." As he spoke, he took the inferior dagger handed over by his youngest son, and carefully When you pry it, the delicate appearance seems to be afraid of scratching the gem (the hardness of the gem is second only to the diamond, commonly known as "corundum", but in the eyes of ordinary people in Faerun, the diamond is no different from the gem).

Just when Old Dick's family was intoxicated with the unexpected wealth, a chaotic "rumbling" sound of horseshoes came from a distance, and a group of knights came to the half-collapsed farmhouse with lit torches.Priest Toga Ainuwen was the first to jump off the saddle. This Chantia priest was a tall, strong man with brown hair and blue eyes, a slightly curved nose, and a slightly thick face with a bit of weather. , wearing a plain priest's sacrificial robe, giving people a very stable and reliable feeling.

Pastor Ainuwen's voice was very thick, with a vicissitudes of life: "Dick! Dick! Have any of you been injured?" In fact, there are not many farms in the whole field. Ainuwen knows each of them and calls them Names, even most of their family members.

"No one was harmed, dear Mr. Ainuwen! I didn't expect you to come here in person, it's really..." Old Dick hurriedly put away the ruby ​​when he heard the sound of horseshoes, and told every family member to stay in the house, He himself went out to greet the priest and his men.

The leader of the pastor made a reasonable expression, and approached the farmhouse with a torch in one hand to check the damage to the house. After a while, he said: "Well, it seems that it is indeed the work of a large creature more than ten feet tall. Dick, give me Tell me about those giants, what are their characteristics?"

"Huh? Giants? Oh! Yes, those giants." Old Dick looked a little out of his mind. "A giantess nearly eight feet, a human boy, two little girls, and a very beautiful woman, just The woman suddenly grew into a giant ten feet tall and broke my house. But they didn't mean to destroy it, and the children didn't look bad." Old Dick was not a greedy person, Although he is a little clever like a farmer, decades of life experience have allowed him to distinguish what is "contentment".

"Haha! Dick, 'bad guy' isn't written on his face, there's nothing scarier than 'a cruel, evil heart hidden under a face of hypocrisy', it's not up to you whether those giants are evil or not It’s up to the gods to decide.” Pastor Ainuwen’s smile was hearty, with some friendly jokes.

Pastor Ainuwen looked into the house through the gap in the farmhouse, and found that Old Dick's family was gathering together and looked out with a very strange expression. He pondered for a while and turned around and asked, "Dick, where are those people Which direction did you go?"

Old Dick, who was following the pastor, hurriedly pointed to the dirt road outside the yard, and said, "To the southeast, they went southeast along the dirt road."

"Southeast? That should be the river valley of the 'Golden Horn'." Ai Niuwen glanced in the direction pointed by Old Dick, and the wilderness under the night was dimly desolate under the illumination of Su Lun (the moon).

The pastor slowly looked around the farmer's home under the moonlight, and then walked back to the horses led by his men, but paused, turned around and sighed: "Dick, I am very sorry to suffer such a disaster, I allow your family Exempt this year’s donation, I’m really sorry I can only do this for you.” He turned on his horse and raised the rein and said loudly: “But don’t worry, those saboteurs will definitely get their due punishment! Chauntia's testimony!" After speaking, he turned his horse and left.

Old Dick's expression changed a few times, and he hurriedly said loudly: "Wait...Mr. Ainuwen, wait! Those people are not necessarily bad people, and they have already made compensation, a huge compensation." When it comes to "compensation", I can't help but emphasize my tone.

"Compensation? You said they gave you compensation?" Pastor Ainuwen, who was puzzled and surprised, flashed a hint of "really so" in his eyes, but no one noticed in the dark night. He asked pretending to be angry, " Then why do you report to the monastery?"

Old Dick explained with some panic: "They didn't explain when they left. We didn't find out until Basso rode to the monastery when we were cleaning up the ruins."

"Oh? What is it that convinces you that they (no longer them) compensated you? Is it gold coins? Or maybe they accidentally left it behind." The pastor showed everyone in a suspicious tone. His extensive experience.

"It's not a gold coin, Mr. Ainuwen, it's a precious stone, a precious ruby, which was deliberately set on the wooden tabletop they used to use." As he said that, old Dick returned to the farmhouse, and took out the treasure from the cabinet on which his family was leaning. Holding a ruby ​​carefully in the palm of his hand, the farmer walked out of the house. The farmer held up the gem and said in a showy tone: "I don't think our family needs to exempt the donation to the monastery this year, Mr. Ainuwen."

The eye-catching gem was like a burning flame flower under the moonlight, and the surrounding area was bright red. The dozen torches in the hands of the priest and his subordinates were as dim as fireflies in late autumn in front of her.All the people present couldn't help swallowing their saliva when they saw the ruby. Ai Niuwen stared at the gem deeply. He knew that kind of ruby. It was the top-quality ruby ​​that was only produced in small quantities in Mirabar, an important mining town in the north. Even he seldom saw it with his archmage friends in Waterdeep City.

You must know that most of the gems in William's hands were scavenged from the corrupt MPs in Mirabar. If you want to let those treasures carefully collected by greedy dignitaries in Mirabar, which is famous for its rich gems, how can there be inferior ones? goods.Sell ​​the inferior ones to others and keep the best ones for yourself. This is the most basic tenet of a qualified businessman.

Pastor Ainuwen jumped off his horse again, probably because his eyes were too focused on the color of the gemstone, and he almost lost his footing when he landed. He staggered a few steps before he stabilized himself, and glanced at the others in embarrassment. While staring at the gem, no one noticed his gaffe, he coughed hard to clear his throat, and asked pretendingly serious: "Dick, is this what those people left behind?"

Old Dick held the gem and praised: "Yes, that's her! I never thought she would be so beautiful under the moonlight, Mr. Ainuwen, isn't she very beautiful?"

Pastor Ainuwen sighed, "Dick, how many dilapidated farmhouses do you think you can buy with such a precious gem?"

"I think it should be ten... ah no! At least twenty, look at how beautiful she is, hehe, even if someone offered thirty farmhouses, I wouldn't sell it." The old farmer looked at the old farmhouse with a silly smile. Zhenbao, he was so happy that he was about to faint.

The pastor shouted angrily, "Don't be stupid Dick! Do you think someone will pay you with treasures worth thirty farmhouses for your pile of broken wood?" Of course, what he said in his heart was: It hurts. What a fool!Old Dick, I hope you're silly too.