The Book of Hibernation

The simple lab is finished.The finished product is a longhouse with wooden walls, perched on a glade beside the Siwa River.The workers then evacuated, leaving only the winter thistle in the laboratory.

Winter Thistle used the golem bird and the necromancer to convey the news that everything was ready, and the date for the last hostage exchange was set.

Three days before the official day, a group of mage assistants rushed from the city to the forest to meet Winter Thistle.Winter Thistle said that they came in time, and he had a lot of preliminary preparations to do, all of which were tedious chores, such as copying runes and brewing catalysts. It was not difficult, but it was time-consuming and labor-intensive.

These mages come from the Western Suburb Workshop, and there are many familiar faces.They've worked with Winter Thistle before, and this time there was very little break-in, and everyone got to work right away.

There is a rather special person among the mages, and Dong Ji specially asked him to come here by name.Aldin really got this man here.

Simon trembled into the lab cubicle.

Everyone else was outside, and Winter Thistle was the only one here.Dong Ji didn't catch up with him, but asked him a few questions about operating the equipment, and he answered them all. It seems that he has really improved a little this year.

Among all mages, Simon wore the roundest and thickest clothes.His cashmere coat was covered with a quilted gown, and a suede fur jacket was placed on the outside, so thick that his arms could hardly be bent.Winter Thistle told him to take it all off, until only the tunic and drawers remained, and the fur-lined boots had to be replaced by plain moccasins.

Of course Simon was reluctant, but he had to follow suit.When he was done, Winter Thistle gave him an old drab robe.Simon took it tremblingly, and a shocked expression appeared on his face as soon as he put it on.

The robe is made of ordinary coarse cloth, the thickness is only enough for early autumn, it looks ordinary, and the hem has two small holes burned by an unknown potion.Such a piece of clothing is actually very warm on the body, no worse than that fur coat.Not only that, after wearing it for a while, even the exposed hands, feet, neck and other parts became warmer.

Winter Thistle told him to wear this robe these few days and not to take it off.Of course, Simon didn't want to take it off, it was more convenient, and he would get cold if he took it off.

After that, Simon was sent to copy the books.He doesn't know what's the use of doing this, anyway, it's not difficult, just do it.

While copying, he noticed something weird—the half-elf seemed to be playing with his fur coat.Winter Thistle folded her clothes this way and tied them that way, then stroked her chin and smiled, talking to herself, as if to say "surprise" or something.

Simon couldn't figure out what Winter Thistle was doing.Do you like this leather jacket?The leather jacket is made of high-quality material, and the price is indeed not cheap... But Winter Thistle doesn't try it on, but just folds it up and down, a bit like a child playing with a doll, which is really puzzling.

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Two days before the official day, the guards from White Lake City came and brought Kanai's body with them.

The necromancer had requested that the formation of knights could not approach Winter Thistle's laboratory, and only one person could be sent to bring Kanai over. This person could not be a priest, only a knight, and he was not allowed to carry weapons, so he could only stay at the door , are not allowed to follow into the laboratory.

Captain Renault took on this task.The escort was stationed some distance away, and he came alone with Kanai in his arms.

As soon as Lei Nuo arrived outside the laboratory, Winter Thistle and several mages immediately came out to greet him.They prepared a stretcher for this, and Raynor could lift an adult alone, which these mages couldn't do.

After such a long time, Winter Thistle finally saw Kanai again.

Kanai's complexion was pale and blue, almost like a dead person, but his body temperature did not disappear, but remained at a level slightly lower than normal body temperature.In addition, part of his hair has begun to gray, which is the same as other bodies that have been eroded by dark clouds.

Kanai's state is very special, it can be said that he is neither alive nor dead.He wasn't really a comatose patient and didn't need to keep warm, but he was still wrapped in a thick blanket.Of course, the clothes under the blanket were no longer the original ones, but the priest's robes from the Temple of the Day.

Looking at Kanai on the stretcher, Winter Thistle smiled helplessly.If Kanai woke up and saw himself wearing a priest's robe, he didn't know how he would feel.

After placing Kanai, Winter Thistle looked out through the crack of the door.

Renault didn't leave right away, he walked very slowly when he left, and deliberately lingered nearby for a while, apparently observing the terrain.When the time comes tomorrow, the Knights of the Temple will definitely take action.

After Raynor's voice faded away, Winter Thistle went out again.He walked to a large cedar tree at the edge of the clearing as the familiar black golem bird circled down from the top of the tree.

Before, the golem bird would hover beside him, but this time it did not approach the winter thistle, but flew farther into the bushes.

Winter Thistle followed the golem bird.The sound of rustling footsteps gradually came from the opposite direction, and after a while, March pushed aside the branches and appeared in front of Winter Thistle.

"You don't seem surprised," March said.

Winter Thistle said: "I'm not surprised. It's almost the last moment, but I didn't take the initiative to send you a message. In this way, you will definitely come and see for yourself. You are the kind of worried and suspicious person."

March folded her arms: "For no reason, why are you mocking me?"

"I'm not mocking you, this is the truth," Winter Thistle laughed, "March...or I should have called you 'Irene Tarr' a long time ago. You came just in time, and I have something to tell you."

"You said, I'm listening."

"Every time you asked me to help before, I basically helped you to the end every time. Now, I want to help you again. I hope you can listen to me. "

March frowned slightly.Judging from Dongji's attitude, she had vaguely guessed what he wanted to say.

"I'm not leaving," March said.

Winter Ji sighed: "This is the last chance. Judging from the current weather, thick fog may rise in this area from tomorrow to the day after tomorrow, and it may not disperse for a long time. You take advantage of this opportunity to leave alone. People will find out."

March asked: "What? Do you think we will definitely fail?"

Winter Thistle said: "If I wake up the dark cloud, do you really think that you can take him away smoothly? You are not stupid, you should see that there are guards and knights everywhere around here. When you meet the dark cloud , They will attack you at any time. They no longer care about hostages."

Sanyue shrugged: "That's easy to say. We didn't want to get out of the way."

"what……"

A red fire appeared in March's eyes.She took a step back, and the two ghost flames moved out of her eyes, forming two black figures in the air.

It is her swearer.This undead creature is her ultimate weapon.They are absolutely obedient to their masters, tireless, unafraid of swords, possess high-strength magic immunity, and can freely switch between solid and incorporeal.

Even if the temple knights hold weapons that have been blessed by divine magic, at most they are evenly matched with them, they can only resist them, but cannot kill them.

Seeing the swearers, Dongji immediately understood what March meant.

He looked at her in disbelief: "Could it be that...you just want to fight head-to-head with the temple? As long as one of you can take away the dark cloud, it doesn't matter if the others die in battle, they are all just victims to attract attention? "

March recalled the vengeance, allowing You Huo to return to her body."It was a decision we made by consensus," she said with a smile.

Winter Thistle shook her head slowly, and leaned weakly against the tree trunk beside her.

March said: "Actually, I shouldn't have told you this at all. The reason why I am not afraid to tell you is because I know very well what kind of person you are. You are not on the side of the city-state at all, and of course, you are not on our side .”

"True," said Winter Thistle.

"In this case, don't show an expression that seems to sympathize with us."

Winter Thistle stood up straight again, and looked at March calmly: "Indeed, I am not on either side of you. My task is to separate the dark clouds and try to wake up Kanai. If I succeed, I will not participate in the following Anything. At that time, no matter how the situation changes, whether you kill the knight or the mage in my house, or the temple knights and city guards surround you and kill you all, I will only watch and protect myself. Help either side."

"That's great, thank you." March said.

Winter Thistle said: "I remind you again. You may take advantage of this outing, and your companions will not be able to stop you. It will be dark soon, and you will go across the ice now, when the mist thickens. You can reach the North Shore before. If you need some basic spell-casting materials, as long as I have them here, I can give them to you. When the hostages are exchanged, once there is a conflict, there will be no such opportunity again."

March nodded perfunctorily: "If there is nothing else, I will go back."

After finishing speaking, she bowed to Dong Ji, turned and left.

Winter Thistle didn't say anything more.It is estimated that they will not meet in the future.

Before returning to the laboratory, Winter Thistle walked towards the river bank.The dense fog on the opposite side is approaching little by little, and it is estimated that it will spread to the forest on the south bank before midnight.

According to the predetermined plan, he will start preparations now and officially start casting the spell the day after tomorrow.He would be busy all day, at least until dusk that day to complete the spell.

At that time, success or failure will always be decided.The witchcraft spell is very special, if it fails, the recipient will be damaged, and there is no chance to try again.

That's fine, as long as there is no possibility of another one, the necromancer and the city-state will not need to negotiate any more, and there is no need to prolong this farce.

Before, he told the city-state party that he would start casting spells after sunrise the day after tomorrow.Not so.

His "casting process" has already begun from now on.

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As Winter Thistle had predicted, fog began to engulf the river and the forest before midnight.There was no sign of falling apart until the next day.

Then another day passed.As night fell again, the fog became thicker and spread wider.

This is not surprising, as such weather often occurs along the Khiva River.The fog this time is not the worst, at least you can see people two or three steps away. In the past, when it was more serious, there was a thick fog where you couldn't see your fingers.

On the day of the official hostage exchange, before dawn, Lei Nuo quietly approached the laboratory with an unarmored guard.

They parked at the edge of the glade, ensuring they had a clear view of the laboratory and that there were trees around them for cover.

After observing for a while, Renault judged that the surroundings were safe.He made a gesture, and the knights changed their formation and scattered to every corner outside the wooden house. After finding the correct position, everyone took out a small round mirror.

The round mirror was of pure silver, polished on one side and engraved with the holy symbol of the Daywatcher on the other.If you look closely at the polished mirror, you can see that it is not a real mirror, and it is not clear enough to illuminate the face of a person. If you face it to the laboratory, several groups of magical aura can be reflected on the mirror.

Each light group has a different shape, color, and intensity, marking all the spells that are operating in the laboratory.Not only spells, it also identifies the mages who are active, because mages carry some magic items on their bodies. Just observe the size and position of the aura, and it is easy to determine which are the mage's belongings, and then judge the mage's status. action.

In the tent of the camp a mile away, the priest of the temple carried the same silver mirror.She looked at the mirror, but what was reflected in the mirror was not her own face, but the images of the mirrors in the hands of the knights.The pictures in the mirror will switch in turn, and she can see all angles of the laboratory.

The mirror used to detect fluctuations is a sacred object of magic.In the beginning, it did not have such a remote reflection effect. Decades ago, the Temple of the Day and the Arcane Federation cooperated to optimize such small props into a product of the combination of divine and arcane magic.

Behind the pastor stood three members of the city-state council, including Glora.They can also see everything in the mirror.The function of the detection mirror is to visually display the detection results, so that people who don't know the magic and arcane can see it.

The pastor explained to them that this is the magic circle in operation, that is the breath of the undead, and so on.

"What's that black thing?" Glora asked.

From one of the angles, something in the laboratory can be seen in the shape of a helical interweaving network.The net rope is black, with fuzzy edges and a halo-like texture, but no one has ever seen black light. From the overall shape, it looks a bit like many thin and long ropes wrapped around a long transparent object.

The priest said: "That is a constant spell, it should be a chimeric arcane spell."

She can judge the approximate type of arcane from the aura and fluctuation of the spell. As for the chimera arcane itself, she doesn't know enough, so she didn't continue to explain the principle, but directly told them the conclusion: "If you want to Ask what it's haunting - it's Kanai."

Grolla moved closer: "That shape...is a human body?"

The priest said: "The outline you see is not the outline of the human body, but the continuous position of the spell fluctuations. It penetrates deep into the body, and you can understand it as piercing in."

Grolla sighed.She was very glad that Aldin was not here. If he intuitively saw such a strange thing entangled with Kanai, he must be very unhappy.

She had previously spoken to Aldine about today's arrangements.They agreed that it is not necessary for the two chambers of commerce to be in the forest at the same time, especially if one of them is the current acting chief.If both of them encounter an accident, it will be very unfavorable to the Chamber of Commerce.

Coincidentally, there are a lot of things to deal with in Fesisit City, such as dealing with the envoys of the Carlos family.These people really wanted to participate in the hostage exchange in person, but the city-state council disagreed, so they were not at ease all day long.Aldin is more familiar with the Carlos family, and it is more suitable to stay in the city to appease them.

So after the negotiation, Aldin left the gem forest and did not participate in the final action.

Before Aldin left, Gerola asked him: After you leave, you will not be able to participate in any decision-making tomorrow.Can you trust Kanai to us?If something unsatisfactory happens, can you accept it?

At that time, Aldin smiled and said: It is right that I do not participate. If I personally participate, this matter may not be done well.

Hearing what he said, Glora could fully understand.

Glora brought his attention back to the present.A group of black waves happened to appear in the mirror again. The outline formed by the lines was very similar to the one just now, but the distribution was a little different.

She asked what it was again.The pastor said it was a corpse, which should have been obtained from a necromancer.

It was reported not long ago that the half-elf mage walked into the depths of the forest and brought back a corpse when he came back.He didn't say what it was for, and no one asked.The pastor speculated that this should be used for experiments. Before casting the spell on Kanai, the refiner needs to do some preparations on other corpses, so there are now two corpses in the laboratory.

Glora noticed that the pastor said "two dead bodies."She never said that when Aldine was around, but used words like "body."Now that Aldin is not here, she doesn't have to care about his mood.

"That mage is pretty smart." The pastor said with a smile.

Gloria didn't understand.The priest explained: "I mean the half-elf mage. He asked for a corpse from the necromancer, so it would be more real, like he was really going to wake up the cloud. If he didn't pretend to experiment, he would die." Healers may suspect him."

Gloria said nothing.A member of the council said: "If I understand correctly, the mage cast a spell on another corpse, so that's where the magic wave was formed, right? Could it be that he was really experimenting? Maybe he It was really done, it was really successful, it was really able to wake up that monster."

The priest said, "I'm guarding against that too, that's why I'm monitoring his spellcasting process. So far, Kanai's..." She almost said "corpse" again, this time she changed the word just in time, "The spell fluctuations on Kanai's body have been stable and haven't changed, which means that the half-elf mage hasn't done anything to it. As for the other corpse, the mage may be using it to delay time. After all, we are not only monitoring He, maybe the necromancer is also using some means to spy on him, if he is completely idle and doing nothing, it would be too suspicious."

Now there are two corpses and seven mages in the laboratory.One of the mages was always wandering around the corpse. He had the most magic defense, probably the half-elf; the other six were mages from Harbor City, and they were members of the same workshop.

These people are basically doing nothing and don't seem to be helping.

There are indications that the half-elf doesn't really want to wake up the dark cloud, he is probably pretending to cast a spell.Seeing such a detection result, the pastor felt much more at ease.

The Necromancer side is just the opposite.

They gathered on the ice of the Khiva River, separated by the thick fog and the bushes on the bank, and they were also casting spells to monitor the fluctuations in the laboratory.

The same thing they observed: the refiner did nothing.

As time passed, the sky gradually brightened, and the necromancers became more and more anxious.But they knew not to act rashly. This day had just begun, and Winter Thistle said that it would take a whole day to complete the spell.