The Book of Hibernation

After a heavy snowfall, the north wind blew out a moonless night.The moonlight shines on the unmelted snow, making everything quiet and unreal.

There is a small village among the rolling pine forest mountains.The road into the village is smooth and clean, and no one has walked it recently, but there are footprints on the roofs of the row houses.Judging from the footprints, this man never took the main road, but jumped directly from the pine forest to the fence, and then climbed up the roof and low wall from the fence.

In a hut in the village, four people sat around the fireplace.

The middle-aged woman was silent, her eyes were red, as if she had just cried, and a child about two or three years old was sitting on her lap, who had already fallen asleep in her arms.

Her husband is silent, staring at a small pot on the fireplace, and her eldest teenage daughter sits next to her father, busily arranging a pile of plant seeds on her apron.

There was a knocking sound on the wooden window, and it was a regular double tap.The middle-aged man immediately got up and went to open the window.

A figure suddenly appeared, first hanging upside down on the eaves of his house, then deftly turning over and jumping into the window.

The figure took off the scarf covering his head, revealing long golden brown hair and thin pointed ears.

"Dolin?" The middle-aged man asked in surprise, "Why are you back again?"

Dorin grabbed his arm: "Listen to me. Now you leave with me immediately, take the eldest daughter with you, and take less luggage."

The middle-aged man looked back at his family, and the expressions of his wife and eldest daughter immediately became tense.

He asked: "Please tell me first, what's the matter? Isn't the dead hunter already gone?"

Dolin said: "Yes. The group of hunters originally wanted to slaughter the village. Fortunately, the city-state guards came... I thought it was all right before, so I left, but now the situation has changed. I heard the news, the group of hunters For the first time, they went to negotiate peace with the city-state guards. During the conversation, they handed over the information they had to the guards and asked the guards to contact the execution team of the temple. They said that as long as they can get rid of 'all the damned people', they will agree to continue Let go of Hammer Village, and don't bother me again. So... the execution team is coming, coming to Hammer Village."

The middle-aged man and the eldest daughter looked at each other.After standing up, you can see that they all have spell material bags hanging around their waists.Both father and daughter are spellcasters.

The wife on the side whispered, "Hammer Village pays Fessisit a tax, and the city guard will protect us. We are just local villagers."

Dolin said: "The truth is correct, but didn't the temple execution team come not long ago? The situation is different now. As long as it is in the gem forest, all things that are identified as abnormal are handed over to the execution team. Including Including Hamer Village, these small villages are all inside or on the edge of the gem forest, so they are all within the scope of the execution team's inspection."

The teenage eldest daughter asked cautiously: "The execution team... aren't they from the Temple of the Day Patrol?"

"Correct."

"As far as I know, the Temple of the Day doesn't hate us... They are not the Temple of Otarot."

Dorin's face was bitter, and he didn't know how to explain this matter.He said: "The execution team is not an ordinary day knight, but a separate team that was formed recently. They belong to the San Dilian Temple in Sandonia, and they were specially sent to the Gem Forest for reinforcements. Gemstones The situation in the forest is very complicated. I don't need to say more, you know better than me. So... a lot of things have changed now. The dead hunters are gathering more and more, the city guards don't dare to take care of the forest, and the execution team... …Let’s put it this way, the execution squad is not equal to the Day Knight, and there are no special execution squads in other places.”

The middle-aged mage thought for a while and asked Duo Lin: "When will the execution team arrive?"

Dolin said: "It is estimated that it will be dawn. Now there is snow and ice on the road, the horses can't go, and the pine forest is too dark, human eyes can't see clearly, so they didn't get close for the time being, but a few miles away. Several hunting posts outside the village have arranged people to watch a few roads. As long as no one comes in and out, it means that the people in the village are still there, and they will keep watching and wait until the daytime to do anything.”

The middle-aged man smiled bitterly: "Then how are you going to take us away? Our skills are not as flexible as yours."

Dolin asked: "You... don't you have any spells in this area?"

"Mages are not omnipotent."

Dorin looked at the father and daughter.The father is middle-aged, a little fat, and it is said that he still has some old problems in the joints; the daughter is about fifteen or sixteen years old, although she is thin, she is not that kind of fit and light, but weak and weak. Can't jump over either.

"Now we can't leave immediately," the middle-aged mage said again, "I have to tell the news to my two friends. They may have other ways to leave."

"You mean there are other mages in the village?" Dorin asked.

"Yes." The middle-aged man walked to the door, took off his cloak, and threw one of them to his daughter. "Emma, ​​you go to the aunt's house in the stump corner, and I will go to Lesha's house. Lesha can make a masking agent, and we can evacuate together, but he is inconvenient and cannot walk alone."

The daughter nodded.Although he followed his father's instructions, he obviously looked a little flustered.

The mage added: "Did you understand what Dolin said just now?" The daughter nodded again.He continued: "Tell these things to your aunt as they are, and then follow her instructions. There are materials that can perform the invisibility technique hidden in her house. You can just follow her directly, and you don't need to come back to meet. The same is true with me. If you can't leave , I will dispose of the casting materials together with her, and try to remove the residual fluctuations on my body. Do you understand?"

The daughter kept nodding her head and said after a while, "Then... what about Mom and Niya?"

The mother who had been silent said: "I should be fine, and I don't have to leave. I am different from you, and the Temple of the Day and the Temple of Otarot are also different. They don't kill people like me."

"That's true," said Dorin, "the Knights of the Day Squad don't do it to ordinary people."

The mother hurriedly handed the child in her arms to Dolin: "Good spirit, if you want to help us, please help me take Niya away. She is so small, it shouldn't be difficult for you to take her alone, right? "

"Take her away?" Dorin was a little confused. The child was still so young, and obviously, like her mother, she was not a spellcaster at all.As long as the people who came were the execution squad and not the dead hunters, she would be in no danger.

The mage father and daughter quickly looked at each other.

Dorin observed the bitterness on their faces, and noticed the stains and wrinkles on the mother's face... He suddenly understood.

"She... she's a..." Dorin looked at the sleeping little girl.

Mother pursed her lips and was speechless.The eldest daughter answered for her: "My sister is five years younger than me, and she should be ten years old now. However, she had an accident when she was two years old. In order to keep her, she had to replace her 'internal' , so that she will always be so small."

Dorin looked at the middle-aged mage.He actually turned his young daughter who died young into an undead creature... I heard that to do so requires the flesh and blood of other children, as well as various corpse materials. The process is extremely profane and evil.

But looking at the family, Dorin couldn't say anything to condemn him.

What's more, this father and daughter are his benefactors.That's why he slipped back to tip off the news.

Not long ago, Dorin wandered alone in the Gem Forest, observing the extent of the forest's erosion and the survival of animals.He encounters aggressive animals with strange limbs, apparently unnatural creatures.He was outnumbered and almost died under the claws of beasts. It was the father and daughter of the mage who saved him at that time.

They told him that what he met was the work of the northern necromancer, or should be called a failed experiment.The monsters cross the river and run to the gem forest. Some will die gradually, and some will survive. While suffering from their own pain, they will torture the water, soil and creatures here.

The father and daughter saved Dorin, but in fact they are also a member of the Necromancer.

Since a long time ago, the banks of the Khiva River have gathered necromancer researchers all year round.The mages on the north bank were usually chased or expelled, so they acted even more crazy; there were also some mages whose homes were on the south bank, and these people would try to keep a low profile and hide their identities as much as possible.

In the end, the family acted according to the father's arrangement: the father went to help another mage, the eldest daughter went to her aunt, and the mother stayed at home.In case of interrogation, she could tell the truth, that someone in the family used spells, but she didn't understand them, she couldn't tell if it was the Necromancer School, and she really didn't know where the mages fled.

They gave their youngest daughter, Niya, to Dorin.Dorin can take her anywhere, just hide for a while, and then sneak her back to her mother.

Dolin picked up the little girl and fixed her to his chest with a cloth rope.He was surprised to find that she had a body temperature.The middle-aged mage told him that this was also an illusion brought about by magic.

When tidying up the straps for Duo Lin, the middle-aged mage sighed: "I thought you were terrified and disgusted with necromancers. You have repaid your favor by telling us when you came back. I didn't expect you to continue to benevolent." help us..."

Dorin shook his head: "I am the patrolman of Yole Island. The patrollers always make judgments based on their own personal experience, rather than obeying any established rules and lessons."

"I always thought the Elves of Yor were very traditional."

Dorin laughed and said: "The majority of elves obey the rules, and they will not leave the Isle of Yoll. People like me who come out and run around are definitely not very honest."

Everything is ready.Dorin opened the window and went over to the roof.

He squatted down and looked around.The village in the early morning is still sleeping, calm as usual.He silently planned the route in his mind, and decided to take the direction that was closest to the forest and didn't need to go through the main road.

He walked on the roof and fence just like when he came here, and his steps were fast and steady, neither slipping and falling, nor waking the sleeping people in the room.

Niya lay on his chest and continued to sleep soundly. Her sleep cycle was preset, and she would definitely not wake up before the time was up.

It didn't take long for Duoling to successfully get into the woods.Just as he was slowing down and thinking about where to go next, he suddenly noticed the light of a lantern in the distance.

Dorin watched intently.Judging from the height of the lights, the visitor did not ride a horse, and there were many lights, shaking back and forth. It seemed that many people were marching in line, with the head of the line facing his direction.

Now the distance is still relatively far, Dorin can see the lights, but the queue should not be able to see him.So Duolin quickly changed direction, opened a certain distance, and walked around the side of the queue.

He went around to a forest with higher terrain, and looked back in the direction of the village by the moonlight.At a glance, he not only gasped.

At this distance, humans can't see things clearly, but the elves have keen eyesight. Dorin saw horse riding queues appearing on the two roads leading to the village.

The moonlight shone on the snow and the rider's body, reflecting mottled silver light, and Dorin recognized that it was the armor of the Knight of the Day.

And who is that queue in the woods?They walked quietly and quietly, not like the knights of the temple in heavy armor.

Could it be a dead hunter?Or did the knights not wear full body armor, but only cloth and leather armor?

Whoever they were, Hamer was besieged.What Dolin heard was that they acted after sunrise, but now they arrived outside the village ahead of schedule.

In this way, can the father and eldest daughter of that family escape in time?If their relatives and friends really have invisibility materials, or masking agents, then it shouldn't be a big problem...

Dolin has heard before that there are many types of masking agents. The one made by Ryan's brother is actually rare, and ordinary masking agents don't seem to be so easy to use.

Dorin originally wanted to go back and check on the situation, but considering Niya in his arms, he decided to go a little further away and hide her away.Anyway, she doesn't need to eat or drink, so it should be quite easy to hide.

So Duolin quickened his pace and walked around the side of the quiet team.

Through the layers of trees, Dorin saw the appearance of some of them with the eyes of the elves.

Judging from their lanterns and weapons, they were not hunters of the dead, but knights of the day.Just as Dorin guessed, this team of knights did not wear armor, but only wore sacrificial robes over warm clothes.

It seems they are for an ambush.If the necromancers in the village sensed that the road was blocked, they would choose to walk through this forest.

Among the gray and white burqas, Dorin found a familiar figure.Even from a distance, he could recognize Ryan from the way he walked and his posture.

Ryan walked at the end of the team, two by two with the other four knights. It should be specially arranged in this way to stop and observe.

After a while, Dorin thought that the queue had passed him, so he stood up slowly.Before he had gone far, he heard someone in the team turn back.

His hairs stood on end, and he quickened his pace.Someone spotted him and came after him.

The nearby woods were not dense enough, and there was snow on the ground, so no matter how light he was, he would still leave footprints.Duolin quickly observed the surroundings, climbed up the big tree, untied the hook rope from his waist, hooked another tree with a suitable angle, and changed the route from the air so as not to let the footprints continue.

When encountering a thick branch that is relatively close, Duolin jumps directly over it, and if it is too far away, uses a hook lock.In this way, he fled quickly without touching the ground, and he should be able to get rid of humans with relatively dull hearing and vision.

He jumped onto another thick branch, and just as he stood still, the sound of the bowstring vibrating came from behind him.Immediately he threw the shackle again and quickly changed directions.

As soon as he was in the air, he knew immediately that something was wrong-the carabiner had come loose.

The arrow didn't come at him, but aimed at the foothold he hooked.The metal arrow hit the branch, breaking it in one blow.

Losing his focus, Duolin fell into the snow with a "poof".He subconsciously protected the child strapped to his chest, and then realized that she was not human at all, would not wake up, and probably would not be injured by it.

Fortunately, the place where he fell was not high, and Dorin was not injured much.He quickly turned over and was about to run again when an arrow passed by his ear and pierced into the snow in front of him.

Doring paused and turned his head slowly.Several figures came out of the woods and surrounded him.

It was Ryan who was at the forefront.

"Dolin, it really is you!" Ryan put the compound bow on his back, without drawing his sword, and approached Dolin with a smile.

Judging from Ryan's expression, he didn't seem angry or surprised. Instead, he was smiling, as if he was very relieved because he met a familiar partner.

"Dorin, don't be afraid," Ryan stretched out his hand to his friend, "I thought it was you from the shape of my body, so I didn't aim. Come on, give us that thing, and we will take care of the rest. Don't worry, we It won't hurt you, and it won't hurt innocent ordinary people."

"Lian, why..." Dorin wanted to ask, how did you know that I was going back to Hammer Village, and how did you act ahead of time... But halfway through the talk, he already vaguely understood the reason.

Ryan showed a helpless expression: "I knew that you must have heard those conversations, and you will definitely come back to report the news. You have always been kind-hearted. Although kindness is very good, sometimes you are too soft-hearted, almost to the point of not distinguishing between good and evil. .Come on, give me that thing, come here, don't be afraid."

Dorin bit his lip, shielded the child's head with his arm, and backed away slowly.

After taking a few steps back, he heard footsteps coming from the woods behind him, and it was a few other knights coming around.

He didn't have much time to think, and immediately ran towards the corner where there was no movement.

The knights shouted, ran, drew their bows, and drew their swords from different directions... Duolin quickly judged the route and planned to flee towards a place where the forest was getting more and more lush. The more complicated the terrain, the better for him. Because the knights are not as quick as he is.

Suddenly, a figure rushed up from the side, and the huge impact knocked Duolin to the ground.

Dorin curled up on the spot, with his back facing up, holding the child in his arms to his chest.The person who knocked him reached out to grab the child. Dorin pulled out the short dagger from his leg with one hand and swung it sideways. He heard someone behind him curse, and then the sound of the weapon being unsheathed.

Cold metal was aimed at the nape of his neck when he heard Lane running up and shouting for the man to stop.

Dorin's eyelashes were stained with tears and snow, and his vision was blurred.He could only see the legs of the person next to him, all black leather boots and leather pants.

Dorin realized that the man who appeared suddenly was not one of the knights, but a hunter of the dead.

The hunter put away his weapon and kicked Dorin by the way. "The execution team of the Temple of the Daylight is only capable of this?" Hearing the voice, the hunter is a young male. "Or are you trying to let this elf go on purpose?"

His attitude was not very friendly, but Ryan was not angry, and after welcoming him, he gave him a brief salute as a knight.

"Sorry, we did make a mistake," Ryan said to the hunter. "This elf is my friend. He just has a kind heart and doesn't understand these stakes. That's why he did such a thing. Don't worry, what we promised It will be done, but it has to be done our way.”

The hunter snorted and backed away from Dorin.

Dorin saw his chance to jump up, but a force behind him came down and held him in place.

This time it was not the strange hunter who controlled him, but Ryan.

Ryan pressed Dorin's lower back with one knee, pinched his wrist and twisted it, and the dagger fell to the ground.

"Dorin, look, the kid didn't respond, it's obviously not alive at all," Ryan said as he moved his knees and turned Dorin's body with his hands, "Don't use your kindness in the wrong place, be obedient, Don't let us hurt you."

In fact, Dorin has no feelings for this child.If he encounters this kind of living dead suddenly, he won't be able to protect it before he can run away.

But for some reason, now he is facing the hunter of the dead, facing the execution team of the Temple of the Day, and facing Ryan who has passed the tour period and is a sworn knight... Instead, Dorin instinctively wants to protect this little boy monster.

For no reason, he just didn't want to hand her over.

Unfortunately, he is no match for the Knights of the Temple.Ryan easily pulled away the arm that was holding the child tightly, cut the cloth rope with a dagger, lifted Niya who was still sleeping, and threw it to the companion standing behind.

Dolin struggled desperately, kept yelling, "No" and "I beg you", almost incoherent, and in the end he didn't know what he was talking about.

At first, Ryan just pressed him firmly to the ground, but he tossed harder and harder, showing no intention of giving in at all... Ryan shook his head and sighed.

"Cuff him." Another knight next to him suggested.

Ryan shook his head: "The shackles are reserved for necromancers. What if there are special circumstances and they are not enough?"

After speaking, he leaned close to Dorin and said "Sorry" in the elf's ear.

Dolin only felt a heavy blow to his abdomen, and there was a burst of severe pain. The pain was so painful that he couldn't make a sound, and his eyes turned black... Then he lost consciousness.