The Book of Hibernation

The cloth bag on the head was removed.Dorin let out a long breath.

It was still dark.There was no light in the place, not even the good eyesight of the elves was of use.The air was damp and cold, and the ground beneath our feet was barren of vegetation.He deduced from this that he should be in an underground cave.

He heard footsteps a few feet away, and then the door shut.The necromancer who escorted him could see the way, probably with the help of magic.

Duolin waited quietly for a while, then asked cautiously, "Dong..."

"Dolin, so you are here, I'm Rosen." It was Winter Thistle's voice.Dorin almost called Winter Thistle by name, but fortunately Winter Thistle was more vigilant than him.

In the darkness, they didn't know who else was around.

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A few months ago, Dorin and Winter Thistle left the border of the Sea of ​​Trees one by one.

Winter Thistle went first, and Dorin started long after him.Duo Lin wanted to stay for a while, and tried to apply to enter the sea of ​​silent trees.As an envoy to the Isle of Yoll, he wanted to take this opportunity to visit his cousin of the sea elves.It was inconvenient for him to visit when Winter Thistle was around. The pure-blood elves rejected half-bloods, and their way of thinking was very strange. If Winter Thistle didn't leave first, they would think that Dorin was going to do something for Winter Thistle, and they might ban him from entering.

Regardless of whether he can successfully enter the country or not, Duolin will leave here in due course in the future and head north.

Both he and Winter Thistle will eventually reach the Gemwood.They agreed on a rough date range and finally met in Fesisit.

As for Winter Ji, who left first—he was not in a hurry, but planned to visit a few more places he passed.

He lived a wandering life for about half a year, and even approached Harbor City quietly.But he didn't enter the city, he only went to the workshop in the western suburbs, and gave some of the transcribed notes to the mage in the workshop.

Then he made a detour to the north, stopped in San Dilian for a while, and went to the consumables store where he used to work. After being recommended by the owner, he met some enchanters in the local workshops.

St. Dillian built a lot of enchanting artifact workshops, all of which were built recently, and some of them were urgently remodeled in textile factories or farmhouses.In the workshop, Winter Thistle shared his notes without hesitation, and even stayed to do a short-term job for a while.

He just stopped for a while and continued on the road after a while.Strange to say, now that he was alone, he walked a lot of lonely roads, but he didn't encounter robbers or petty theft as before.

He thought about why for a long time.Later, I thought it might be because the closer to the Khiva River, the more dangerous it was, and even the bandits didn't want to move here.

Several months later, Winter Thistle and Dolin successfully reunited.Dorin arrived in Fesisit first, and Winter Thistle arrived more than a month later than him.

Winter Thistle finds the tavern that Duo Lin mentioned, and finds that Duo Lin has returned to her old job, and once again worked as a "waitress".Winter Thistle asked him why he was dressed like a woman, and Dorin said awkwardly that it was because he didn't want to be recognized, and didn't want Lane to know that he was back again.

Winter Thistle expressed his puzzlement: We are going to the Jewel Forest, and we are going to see Ryan. Sooner or later, he will know that you are back.

Dorin had a hard time explaining how he felt.Of course he knew that he would see Ryan sooner or later, but he was inexplicably afraid to go back to Ryan alone.

He said to Winter Thistle, I would rather act with you, because I would be more courageous.

Only then did Winter Thistle realize that Dorin was so afraid of Ryan.In his impression, Duo Lin was not timid at all, and could even be called brave enough to be almost reckless.

After both of them had been resting for a few days, Duolin took Dong Ji out of the city to let Dong Ji get acquainted with the nearby terrain.

Fessisit faces the plain, and its back is the hill.The nearby mountains are part of the Luoyue Mountains in the northwest, and the mountains have begun to close in the distance, and there are only a few sporadic hills stretching to the side of Fesisit.As long as you are a local who is familiar with the road, you can completely cross the past in less than half a day.

There is also a forest on the mountain, but it is not considered the scope of the gem forest.This is still within the guard line.

Turn over the hill and continue to the north. After passing through a relatively low-lying valley, the terrain begins to undulate again. When you see the forests dominated by red pine and fir, you will enter the gem forest.

It is said that a long time ago, "Fesisit" was the original name of this mountain forest, which comes from a long-lost local dialect, which means something related to gems.People have discovered various mineral deposits in the nearby forests one after another, so they often call this place the Gem Forest, and "Fesisit" gradually became the name of the nearby free city-state.

On such a precious land, all kinds of monsters are now roaming around, slowly being eroded by undead creatures.It is said that the forest near the Khiva River has begun to wither, and if it goes on for a long time, even the ore veins may turn into foul crystals.

Dorin and Winter Thistle chatted about the forest, and walked slowly over the hill.Today they don't plan to go deep into the gem forest, they just want to take a general look around.

Just when they were halfway down the mountain, Dorin smelled a rotten stench.

They found the carcasses of two deer and feared they were the source of the stench.Judging from the wound, it should be the work of a carnivore.Native mountain lions often only eat offal like this, leaving most of the carcasses.

So Dorin didn't care, but decided to turn back from here.

They hadn't walked a hundred steps, and Dorin suddenly felt dizzy and a little nauseous.He thought it was because he was too close to the deer's corpse just now and inhaled too much putrid stench.

Winter Thistle realizes that something is wrong.The air smelled not just of corpses, but also of sundew and sundew berries.If there's something to go with sundew, it's Shrike Blood and Shrike Heart Powder, both of which have a distinct smell that's overshadowed by the stink of corpses...

When Winter Thistle fully discerned the danger, he tried to tell Dorin to run, but it was too late.

He couldn't make a sound, his body was stiff, his eyes began to darken, and he couldn't do it even if he wanted to cast a spell, and finally lost consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time, Dongji woke up, but her body was still unable to move, only her eyes could move, her throat could make a sound, and she could speak.

Dorin was beside him, he could see out of the corner of his eye.They were all sitting on the ground, not lying down.

Besides Dolin, there were other people beside him, but he couldn't see clearly for the time being.

Their bodies are immobile like the dead, but the caster can control them uniformly.The things that Winter Thistle recognized before going to bed just now are the necessary materials for casting this control spell.

Although the spell was terrifying, Winter Thistle was relieved.Having this spell on their body means that the caster doesn't want to kill them for the time being.

Because, the effect of this spell is very contradictory: the spell can completely control the subject and manipulate them to do many things.During the effective time, the subject's body will be protected by a force field armor, and ordinary swords can hardly hurt them.Magical attacks can work, but every time a controlled person dies, a certain amount of bleeding occurs from the caster's stomach.

In the process of casting this spell, the mage not only needs to chant spells, arrange and burn related materials, but also needs to swallow some of the materials.Once the materials are consumed within his body, the spell ends.Before that, the death of the subject would cause the material to fluctuate, causing the caster to bleed.

Since the caster has controlled more than one or two people, it means that he will not kill them for the time being, otherwise he himself will suffer.

This is of course a necromancy spell.There are many spells in the School of Necromancy with the legacy of witchcraft, and the effects are hard to describe.Wizards in their right mind rarely really want to learn them.

Winter Thistle calmed down and looked around.They are in a camp in the forest, surrounded by magic fluctuations, it should be a blinding spell to protect the camp.

After a while, he heard footsteps, someone pacing behind them, asking their names.

Winter Thistle didn't say his real name, but the name of the owner of St. Dilian's Magic Consumables Store came to his mind, so he reported it.

The people behind saw that he was also a spellcaster, so they asked him a few more questions.Winter Thistle replied that he was an enchanter, and usually bought and sold spell-casting consumables.This is all true.

Those people took his material bag and checked it, but found nothing unusual.The type of material he brought was in line with his self-described identity.

Just like that, after waiting for an unknown amount of time, someone put cloth bags on them one by one from behind, manipulating them to stand up and walk in a certain direction.

After some trekking, they finally arrived at this dark cave.

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Winter Thistle can move its head slightly.This means that the duration of the spell is about to end.

Judging from the sound of breathing, there should be another person beside him and Dorin.After a while, the spell on the third person ended first, and Winter Thistle heard the sound of him falling to the ground.

"Are you all right?" Dorin asked.

The other party said a few words, and the voice was female.The place was too dark for them to see each other.

She said she was fine, but she was too tired and her feet were numb.When she was talking, Dong Ji faintly noticed that the voice was very familiar... But he was too tired now, his head was in a daze, and he didn't know if he had heard it wrong.

Then, the woman said, "You seem to have an eastern elf accent?"

"I am the Elf of the Isle of Yole."

"Really? I'm a half-human, and the elf side is also from the Isle of Yole, so we're from the same hometown!"

Upon hearing this, Dong Ji and Duo Lin gasped at the same time.

It turned out to be De Lisi.Except for her, no one likes Yixiang so much.

Winter Thistle and Dorin can move now too.They groped to the stone wall behind them and sat down to rest along the wall.

Meeting Deris here, Winter Thistle panicked.For a moment, he couldn't tell which side De Lisi was from. Even if she was kidnapped, if she recognized him, it would be meaningless for him to declare his pseudonym.

At this time, De Lisi took the initiative to ask: "I heard you talking just now, one of you is called Dorin, and the other is called Rosen, right?"

Winter Thistle said nothing.Dorin said yes.

De Lisi said: "I was detained in another place before, and I didn't see you at that time. Are you newly arrested?"

"Yes. How long have you been caught?" Dorin asked.

So De Lisi gave a general account of her experience.Several other people were arrested with her, and the necromancer detained them separately.There should be several hidden camps in the forest, as well as cave entrances. The necromancer drove the captives from one place to another, and now it happened that Doris was locked up with these two people.

Because Winter Thistle didn't take the initiative to speak, De Lisi took the initiative to say to him: "Hi, Mr. Rosen. I heard you talking just now, and I seem to know you."

Winter Ji's heart tightened.

Deris said: "Couldn't you be Fami Rosen? I'm Deris, a red-haired half-human. I've been to your shop and helped you drive away the robbers. You must know me." I."

Hearing what she said, Winter Thistle finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When he was talking to Dorin just now, De Lisi had already recognized their voices.She came from the Carlos family and was originally a resident of San Dilian. She must know the real shopkeeper Rosen.Winter Thistle used this name, and she already realized what was going on.

At this time, Dorin said softly, "Someone is coming."

He heard footsteps first, and soon Deris and Winter Thistle heard them too.

The footsteps stopped at the door just now.Judging from the sound of the door opening, there was no lock on the door, and they used arcane symbols.This is a very simple magic lock, and it is not difficult to crack, but it is a pity that the material bag of Winter Thistle was confiscated.

Heavy footsteps came in.A cold hand grasped Winter Thistle's shoulder, and it should be the same on Dorin's and Deris' side.

Dorin exclaimed, and Winter Thistle told him not to panic and not to resist, this should be a bone golem.

The golem picked them up, pushed them against the same wall, and made them sit with their backs against the wall, facing the door.

Then, a little light appeared in the distance.Someone should be approaching with a magic ball of light.

The ball of light was getting closer and closer, illuminating the doorway of this cave.All three lowered their heads and squinted.They've been in the dark for too long and the eyes need to adapt.

Winter Thistle slowly raised her head, and first saw three skeletons standing against the backlight. The torso and head were still human, and the hands and feet were replaced by wood and metal.This is a golem made of the dead.

Four or five people stood outside the door, all dressed in dull robes and hoods.They whispered for a while, and one of the smaller men walked in, and the door was closed behind the door.

The ball of light stayed in the cave with the man.Then, Winter Thistle heard the familiar voice again.

"Don't be afraid, I didn't come to hurt you."

The three of them said nothing.

Winter Thistle's eyes had adjusted to the light, but he kept his head down.

The mage smiled and said, "Don't worry, we can't be heard outside, and I won't mention your identity to them...Mr. Enchanter Rosen."

After speaking, the mage took off his hood.

Winter Thistle slowly raised its head.March smiled and nodded at him.

"Very good, it's very smart to do so," March simply sat down in front of Winter Thistle, "It's best not to let anyone know that you are the child of Jinye and Haman, otherwise you may never be able to leave."

Winter Ji asked, "Do they all know me?"

"I don't necessarily know each other, but it's better to be careful. Many people know that the Chamber of Commerce has an excellent refiner. After comparing various clues, it is easy to guess that you are a descendant of Harman. You see, you didn't directly You told me, didn't I know anyway?"

Winter Thistle looked solemn.Sanyue added: "However, everyone heard that this refiner had an accident last year, and now he has been locked in the dungeon of the teaching academy. I didn't know that you could come here. Many mages I know feel that it is a pity , they only hate that Wuyun didn't find you earlier, and failed to 'rescue' you to our side earlier."

Dong Ji smiled wryly: "So the necromancer is so enthusiastic."

March said: "There are many necromancers who want Haman's spell book. They have been thinking about it for decades, and the more they can't get this book, the more they have unrealistic fantasies about it. They I feel that this spell book will allow them to fully surpass those southern researchers, allow them to be respected, no longer subject to others, and even establish their own country in the Frost Plains."

From the way she shook her head and chuckled, she obviously didn't approve of these fantasies.

Winter Thistle asked: "You are also a member of the Necromancer, why are you willing to keep a secret for me?"

March said: "I don't want you to stay in the north forever. Others do, but that has nothing to do with me. I have no interest in Harman's book or Enchantology, and my research direction has nothing to do with these. Although I also need consumables for refined products, I can’t afford to study how to do it myself. Chefs don’t learn how to grow sugar cane and make sugar.”

De Lisi next to her couldn't help but comment: "That's quite right. The consumables for spellcasting are a complete industry from rough to refined products. Our collection team and business team are doing this. Some very old-fashioned mages don't understand, but You are different, you can see that you are a person with flexible thinking.”

March sighed: "Even if you praise me, I won't let you go."

"I'm not flattering you, I mean it sincerely. Judging by your accent, you're from Ord, aren't you?"

"Yes. I'm definitely not from your hometown." Sanyue smiled, but her eyes were serious. "Can you not speak for a while? I don't want to waste my energy casting spells on you."

De Lisi nodded, stopped talking, and cast an aggrieved look at Winter Thistle and Dorin.

She was arrested earlier than the two of them, and it is estimated that she would forcibly recognize a few fellow villagers among the necromancers every day.Imagining the scene of her making friends with these people, Dongji wanted to laugh a little, but considering their current situation, she really couldn't.

March went on to say: "However, I am also a 'notorious' necromancer after all. Although I don't want Harman's book, I also have common interests with other mages. So we acted together and made the current plan .”

Winter Thistle asked, "What do you want?"