The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

The clown stood quietly in a corner of the tent's central open space, staring blankly at the top of the tent, which was surrounded by brown cloth to form the top of the tent.

The corners of the clown's lips raised habitually, showing a very exaggerated and funny smile.But with everything that's going on right now, that smile feels, like, sad.

Suddenly the clown said softly, "The bird—is the bird—"

The birdman was still flying high above the tent.

A shadow suddenly cast in front of him, the clown looked over subconsciously, and then saw a familiar figure.He also subconsciously said, "Meet you again, sir!"

Siles also looked at the clown, and after a while, he said, "I heard that Mickey is dead."

"Dead... dead..." The clown nodded, holding a card between his fingers, and pointed forward, "There he is. Dead."

Siles nodded thoughtfully, and asked, "Do you know how he died?"

The clown tilted his head, his mouth still grinning exaggeratedly.He said, "Know—can't tell you. I won't tell you."

Siles said, "Why?"

"It's the secret of the circus." The clown said mysteriously.

"But the head of the circus is dead." Siles pointed out this very calmly, "so, the secret is no longer a secret."

The clown tilted his head and looked at him strangely.Suddenly, he stuck the card he had been playing between his fingers to his lips, as if to indicate that he was sealed.

Siles' eyes also fell on the card - although he had noticed that the clown was always playing cards when he was in Ramifa City, he had never paid attention to the content on the cards.

The next moment, shock suddenly appeared in his eyes.

That was a card of fate—that was the card of fate that Alva took out!

...a merchant card.

"Where did you get this card?" Sirius couldn't help asking.

What he's thinking about now is that it's not out of the question if the Joker got the card from Alva; Alva could have stolen the card at Hales House, maybe last night, maybe this morning ...

In any case, it's at least possible that the Joker made contact with Alva.It is indeed possible for him to come into contact with Destiny Cards.

But what if the Joker got the card earlier?When he was in Ramifa City, Sirius saw the cards he was playing in his hand, was it the cards of fate?

Siles didn't pay attention to that card at all at the time, and didn't know whether it was just an ordinary card or a fate card printed by Alva's printing factory.

... Who actually ordered this deck of cards from the printing factory in Alva's home?

Siles had complicated eyes, staring closely at the merchant card.On the card, the businessman with a big belly showed a smug smile, as if he was laughing at Siles.

The clown shook his head and said something vaguely.Siles heard him say the word "secret".

Secret—what secret? !

Siles narrowed his eyes.

"...the Merchant's card," said Siles. "You're implying this. Does it have anything to do with the Merchant?"

The clown's eyes were on Sirius.Where the cards were not in the way, Siles saw the corner of the clown's mouth still raised.But there was no smile in his eyes.

After a while, the clown put the cards back in his pocket.He was wearing a clown costume that looked gorgeous and complicated, but was actually dirty.He said, "Mickey...is dead. Heidi...is gone too."

The circus is dead in name only.Siles thought.

From the perspective Siles observed, there seemed to be a total of five people in the circus, the circus master Mickey, the female astrologer Heidi, the clown, the animal trainer, and the magician.The last three Siles did not know their names.

The clown is a character card in the running group plot.In the script of the running group, after the apostate Hamlin handed over the list of priests of the Church of the Past to his companions, he would flee from Ramifa City.One of his options is to sneak into the caravan of merchant Ranmeer.

Then, after leaving the city, they encounter the circus.A circus is a chaotic place, and clowns have to wear clown costumes and paint their faces heavily.

Therefore, there is a certain probability that Hamlin will choose to kill the clown, sneak into the circus, and then go to the outside world—the land of no embers, waiting for an opportunity.

Of course, the player holding the role card of the clown can change his destiny in various ways.He can choose to leave the circus in advance, he can choose to cooperate with Hamlin, he can choose to feign death, and he can choose to die together.

In any case, the reality and the script have been very different.The Joker isn't dead, but Mickey is; Heidi is missing.

As for the tamer and the magician.No one knows what their fate will be.

Siles stared at the clown silently.

"...What's wrong?" Qin Duo came over and asked.

Siles glanced at him, shook his head slightly, and then turned to ask the clown: "If there is a businessman standing behind you..." He thought for a moment, "Then, when you went to Lamifa City, Did he push it?"

That's why Elgar found the circus?

In the Grayson incident not long ago, there was a problem that puzzled the investigators, that is, the two behind-the-scenes masterminds, Elgar and Clarence, had never had anything to do with the Land of Embers in the past. relationship.

However, they inexplicably found a circus from Land of No Ashes, and let them participate in the October Fair, using special business to add chips to their final plan.

How did they get involved with this circus from the Neverlands?

Even though they might investigate the source of the strange portrait in Land of No Ashes, from their correspondence, the investigators did not find any signs that could prove that they really did investigate and found useful information.

It was as if someone had erased their connection to the Everlands; it was as if someone had convinced them that the portrait was the embodiment of Temiafa; it was as if someone had told them there was a circus to help you, let Come to Ramifa.

"Someone", who is it?

If there was a businessman standing behind this circus...

Siles said in a low voice, "Cendo, you told me before that this circus is permanently stationed at the House of Hales."

Cinder looked at the silent clown, and said, "Yes. They've been staying at Hales House, in the middle of the tent."

"...Hales House," said Sirius. "The Merchant. Menawaka."

After a while, he suddenly sighed.

"I should have realized this sooner," he said.

Cendo looked at him a little troubled, but Siles didn't mean to explain.He said, "Mr. Clown, thanks for the tip."

The clown blinked, then handed over the card and whispered, "Here you are, sir."

His painted, red lips still had a comical smile on them.Siles took the card, and the clown swayed wildly, waving at Siles.

Siles pocketed the cards.They left this corner for the time being and walked a little farther.

Qin Duo suddenly asked suspiciously: "Wait, this card?"

Siles said: "Indeed, the card of fate. But I don't know where the clown got this card." He thought for a moment, then shook his head, "It seems that someone is secretly helping us."

Cinder glanced at Sirius' pocket, and said, "Who knows. Maybe someone is actually helping us."

Siles' attention is actually not on this card right now, he answered absently, and stood there, looking at the central open space of the camp, lost in thought.There, people had just finished collecting Mickey's body.

Mary was up first this morning, followed by Alva and Chester.Because Siles was still sleeping, they came to the camp first to have breakfast, and happened to run into Mickey's body.

Mary found an errand, came to the short house and told Qindo about it.Since they are witnesses, the three must cooperate with the investigation.

The errand runner had just left when Siles awoke.They also got up and went to the camp.

Mickey's death was the same as that of the explorer they'd bumped into at the Clinking Glass last night.Dr. Chester said in a daze, his legs turned into statues.

Chester was greatly stimulated by this matter.He immediately thought of that cold night seven years ago.

However, on the other hand, he actually felt relieved.It wasn't his hallucination - besides, the man's death couldn't be said to be his fault.Obviously, the man must die soon.

Chester reconciled to some extent with his cowardly self at the time.Of course, frustration is unavoidable. He wished that he could be bolder and at least ask for some information from that half-man, half-statue guy.

As soon as Siles came to the tent, he was pulled aside by Doctor Chester and mentioned how Mickey died.Siles naturally knew that he was thinking of his past.

However, the two deaths he encountered after coming to Hales House made Sirius feel a little puzzled.

He asked Chester, "You did return to the place where that person appeared, but there is only a little ashes left there, isn't it?"

Chester nodded: "The next morning... yes, some traces that looked like peeled lime."

Siles narrowed his eyes slightly, and then said, "Don't you think this is weird?" He paused, "Dying in the process of turning into a statue, Mickey's body didn't disappear or turn into ashes .

"Why did the person you met disappear?"

Chester thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"...Maybe someone moved his body away." Siles said in a low voice.

Chester frowned and asked, "But why?"

"Yeah, why." Sirius said, "Why does someone turn into a statue, why does his body disappear, why does Hales House also have such a dead person..."

There are many, many questions.

Afterwards, Dr. Chester returned to the seat next to him and sat down.The young Alva still had an unrecoverable astonishment on his face.Siles noticed the clown in the corner, and went over there to talk to the clown.

...then he harvested a merchant card.

Siles suddenly came back to his senses, and finally sorted out the thoughts in his mind, and then put it down for the time being.He walked up to Alva and asked, "Alva, have you brought the Fate Card with you?"

"Cards?" Alva was a little stunned, "No, no. I put them in my residence. What's wrong?"

Siles handed the merchant card in his pocket to Alva and said, "I got this card from the clown."

"Destiny card!" Alva looked extremely astonished. He looked at the card over and over again, and then suddenly exclaimed, "This is the first card proofing!"

"What?" Sirius asked curiously.

Qin Duo and Chester also looked over curiously.

"Here! Here!" Alva pointed to a corner of the card, "There is a special mark here, which is a flower, which was specially printed by my printing factory during trial printing to distinguish the proof version from the official version. "

They all looked over, and it looked like an eight-petal rose, very small, like an ant, in the lower right corner of the entire card.

Siles was slightly startled, thinking, eight-petal rose?

...so the eight-petal rose paper he got from the publisher Benton was from Alva's printing house?He suddenly felt a kind of coincidence of fate.

Of course, he also realized a problem: "If it's the first proofing, it means..."

"This card came from the mysterious orderer." Alva shrugged, "All the 54 cards for the first proof were given to him. After that, we formally signed the contract."

He handed the card back to Sirius, and said, "It's strange that a single card should appear to the jester."

Alva looked at the clown curiously.

Siles was silent, looking down at the fate card thoughtfully.

Eight-petal rose.he thinks.This inexplicably brought him a very subtle feeling.

It feels like... "Another eight-petalled rose?"

He seems to have come across this image quite often lately.

After a while, Siles put the card back into his pocket.

"You did find something, didn't you?" Cinder asked. "Don't be a fool, Professor Sirius Noel."

Once he called Siles by his full name, it meant that this guy was a little irritated.

Siles glanced at him, considered for a moment, and then said, "This is just my guess—if everything that happened in the past is put together."

"Look at it together?"

Qin Duo, Chester, and Alva asked in unison, and Mary, who was standing not far away, cast curious eyes.

"Qindo." Siles asked suddenly, "Why did you appear at the kitchen door of the banquet on the eve of God's birthday?"

Qin Duo was taken aback, he didn't expect Siles to mention this matter at this time.

Siles didn't wait for Qindo to answer, and said, "Because you are looking for things related to Huddoka. Huddoka's believers once built a temple, and now the remains of this temple have been discovered. Some Explorers stole the items and sold them.

"You heard that something was sold to a secret organization related to food, and then you realized something was wrong because of the situation in Lamifa City on the eve of God's birthday, so you decided to come to the dinner party to have a look, didn't you?"

"Yes," Cinder said, "what does that have to do with the problems we're facing now?"

"The relationship lies in the fact that the portrait was made by followers of Huddoka, but the mastermind behind the dinner event thought it was the incarnation of Temiafa—they were deceived." Siles said in a low voice.

Qin Duo understood almost immediately: "A group of followers of the old gods deceived another group of followers of the old gods? Ha, dog eats dog, really interesting."

Alva looked around and saw the thoughtful expressions on the faces of the elders, so he couldn't help asking weakly: "I...I still don't understand. Does this have anything to do with the problems we are encountering now? ?”

"It should be said that a group of followers of the old gods took advantage of another group of followers of the old gods." Siles said, "I'm not sure what they want to try, maybe it is to win by quantity, or whether sacrifice can really Summon the power of the gods...

"Anyway, they had an attempt."

Alva said still confused: "Okay... I can understand now. One group took advantage of another. But, what happened after that?"

"After that is the situation we are facing now." Sirius said, and then he suddenly turned to Mary, "Ms. Mary, has this happened in Hales House, where people become statues in succession and die in the process?" ?”

Mary shook her head firmly. She said, "People die for various reasons, but unrelated people die for the same reason...at least I haven't heard of it."

Alva slowly understood: "So, continuous death is what they are doing?"

"I suspect that this group of Huddorka's followers realized that it is impossible to awaken the old gods by sacrificing so many people every year for a long time." Siles said in a low voice, "They have to get rid of them in a short period of time." , murdering many people one after another."

The actions of Elgar and Clarence have proved them very effectively - through the sacrifice of "food", they indeed summoned the power of the Temia method, even though the portraits they used were not Temia Avatar of Yaphas.

Rather, "sacrifice" in the true sense has nothing to do with such rigid objects as portraits.They only need to do things that are in line with the will of the gods, in a "scene" that is in line with the will of the gods.That is a "conceptual" correlation.

Timiya method corresponds to the dinner party; and Huddoka?

That is evil incarnate.And here, in the Land of Never Embers, in House of Hales, what a place Houddoka wanted.

Besides, what happened to those workers... the Stardust mine vein...

Siles took a deep breath and said instead: "Ms. Mary, maybe we have to find Mr. Miles from yesterday and ask when did this kind of death start and how many people have died?" people."

Mary nodded immediately and said, "I'll go find him. You guys wait here for a while."

Siles thanked her.

Mary left for a while.The remaining four were each absent-minded in their thoughts.

An idea came to Siles' mind.He thought, maybe this kind of thing has been going on for a while, otherwise, last night, Miles and the revealer who checked the corpse could not have been so calm and even relaxed.

They don't think anything big happened.

From one aspect, they may just be used to it; from another aspect, they may also be in the same boat.

But in any case, if the followers of Huddoka decided to start the operation of the land of no embers after the events on the eve of the god's birthday, it seemed too hasty.

It's been just over a week.It will take some time for the news to spread from Lamifa City to the Land of Never.Will the followers of Huddoka have time to act?

And if they had decided to do something earlier...

...a gourmet town.

This possibility suddenly appeared in Siles' mind.

An accident happened in the gourmet town. It happened in early September, and it has been almost two months.Such a long time is enough for the followers of Huddoka to make some plans.

At that time, Siles felt that the accident in the gourmet town was "out of control" in a sense.No matter what the black hand behind the scenes wanted to do, it was impossible for the other party to want something to happen to the gourmet town at that time.

...But what if... What if there are followers of Huddoka behind this matter?

What if they just want to conduct an experiment through the gourmet town?

The power of fraud, the power of crime, the power of malice... At that time, in order to get the food they liked, people would even step on other people's bodies - using others as a stepping stone, it was outright crime and malice.

In a way, this doesn't exactly feel like the power of Temiarfa.

"On the verge of losing control."Siles recalled his original thoughts.He thought it was an emotional, sensual rush.

In fact, it is very likely that it is just the impulse to "crime".

Siles felt a little heavy pressure.He doesn't know what people are doing in the corners of the world that he can't see.However, those things obviously affected the operation of this world.

Followers of Huddoka...

"Siles." Qin Duo suddenly called his name softly.

Siles came back to his senses and asked, "What?"

"You also overlooked one element...or, you deliberately ignored this element." Qin Duo's voice was so soft that Chester and Alva could not hear, "Businessman."

Siles was silent for a moment, then nodded, he said: "That's just a speculation. As for the disciples of Huddoka, I'm pretty sure."

"So what's your theory?"

Siles paused, and then said: "In the first version of the rules of Destiny Solitaire, if the player has a drunkard card in his hand, and then the croupier deals him a chef card, then the player must replace the drunkard card with a master chef card." Kitchen card."

Qin Duo nodded, and the emerald green eyes shone with interest.He seemed to like hearing Sirius speak his reasoning in a calm, cold, steady voice.

Siles continued: "The god of wine and pleasure, Erkoo. His fall marks the beginning of the Silent Age. Everyone knows about it, but no one knows why Erkoo fell."

Qin Duo continued to nod.

Siles was silent for a moment, and then said slowly: "Drinks, gluttony; pleasure, violent lust. The power of Temiafa seems to cover the power of Erkoo."

"so?"

"...I think there is a possibility that the gods can devour each other's power." Siles' voice was very soft, but his tone was extraordinarily quiet, "Temiafa devoured Erkoo. Then, he may became stronger."

Qin Duo was stunned for a moment, and then laughed: "I'm curious... Siles, how could you—how could you, come up with such an idea?"

Siles thought, that's just because he is a novelist from Earth.

And another reason why I can't say it comes from...

The manuscript given to him by Bart the scribe.

In that manuscript, childlike words refer to lambs swallowed by the dirt.At that moment, Siles got this heavy hint - devour.

He believes that the content of this manuscript obviously hides many secrets, and it is related to the gods.Devouring... between gods and gods?

One of the passages deepened Siles's doubts about the two gods, Temiafa and Erkoo.

"The fisherman picked up the fish carcass.

"Frequently praise the freshness of the meat.

"Gulp bubbling.

"Clink the wine bottle."

On the one hand, the powers of the two gods are indeed similar; on the other hand, in this passage, the fisherman cooks fish and at the same time, suddenly mentions the wine bottle.

Just from the sentence, Siles can imagine the scene where the fisherman is cooking fish and drinking wine.

"liquor".The god of wine and pleasure, Erkoo.

...the cook drank.

Siles doesn't know what "fish" refers to... It should be said that he has some ideas, but he has no intention of proving it at this time.However, the image of "wine" is very obvious.

Combined with the subtlety of the old oracle rules of Destiny Solitaire, Siles had the idea: Temiafa devoured Erkoo.And that caused the fall of Erkoo.

...Of course, there is no proof.It is just reasoning based on various conditions and elements.

Siles was silent for a moment, then said: "Huddoka and Menawaka."

The god of sin and lies; the god of commerce and oaths.

Worshipers of the two gods are rumored to have a very close relationship due to the deceitful nature of Huddorka's power.Fraud and business are made for each other, right?

And now...

Siles sighed softly, and he said: "There is a businessman standing behind the circus. This businessman may have something to do with the House of Hales. And the circus was also involved in the incident in Lamifa City among.

"... Are the followers of Huddoka really controlling everything behind this? Or, the followers of Menawaka? Or, are they all together?"

he whispered.

Did Menawaka devour Huddoka too?

If this is the case, then these old gods... their relationship with each other, their fall, and the hidden secrets of the Shadow Age and the Silence Age... are really chilling.

Siles thought, after all, that symbolizes 5 knowledge attributes.Furthermore, Bart, the scribe, would not have been able to transcribe this manuscript without the ritual of "reincarnation."

... Who on earth asked Bart to copy that manuscript?Did he also get the manuscript, and did he grasp what was implied in it?Siles couldn't help thinking.

Qin Duo said: "This is too complicated. I am afraid that only by talking to the mastermind behind the scenes will it be possible to understand all the stories behind it."

Siles came back to his senses and nodded in agreement.That's true.

They reason and speculate here, and although everything sounds possible, it is only "possible" after all.It is impossible for them to know the past of the gods of the Silent Ji, and it is impossible for them to know the plots of the followers of the old gods of the Mist Ji.

"I hope we catch them in time," Sirius whispered.

What happened in Ramifa City has become very complicated - Siles doesn't even know how many big names have helped Grayson Foods.And now, this is the land of no embers.How many crimes and secrets are hidden in this vast land of no embers?

Soon, Mary and Miles appeared in the central clearing together.

There was an unusual tension in Miles's body, which was very different from the one he had shown in the tavern the night before.

He rubbed his hands together, as if he wanted to hide his emotions, so when he spoke, his tone was a little arrogant: "Who are you? Why do you ask such a thing?!"

"Mr. Miles." Siles' voice was very calm and calm, "Since you appear here, it means that you want to communicate with us. I hope you can communicate with us frankly."

Miles' expression froze, and then his momentum slipped rapidly.In the end, he looked at the man in front of him with some embarrassment, and just said, "That's... an internal matter of the House of Hales."

Siles ignored his statement and just asked, "How many people died? When did it start?"

Miles stared at Siles, and after a while, he seemed to be suddenly discouraged, and said dejectedly: "It started more than a month ago. There are about twenty dead."

Siles said, "That's nearly one a day. Don't you plan to find out?"

Miles said awkwardly: "Hales House... dead people appear every day. To be honest, we didn't think there was any problem at first. But after the situation became more..."

Siles stared at the man in front of him. He thought that Miles didn't seem to know that behind the deaths of these people, there might be businessmen related to Hales House.

In other words, he appears to be an irresponsible manager rather than an accomplice.

Of course, Siles could not just draw conclusions like this.

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Is there anything in common between their deaths?"

Miles was silent for a while, and finally said frankly: "They all got a manuscript. Maybe I should hide it, but anyway..." He subconsciously looked at Mary and Gyndo.

This seemed to mean that it was because of the presence of these two people that he was willing to talk so much with Siles.

He said: "They all got a manuscript from a mysterious person. The content is similar...one of us who is a revelation, read the contents of that manuscript...and..."

He trembled subconsciously.

"He's dead too," said Siles.

"……Yes."

Siles was silent.

Miles smiled wryly: "That's why we don't want to investigate this matter... Can you understand? Someone is trying to set off a conspiracy, and we... We are the station. We don't need to get involved in this matter. Let them do it Go! This has nothing to do with us!"

His emotions suddenly became agitated, and the last two sentences were almost uttered out loud, but soon, the emotions slid down.

"It's happening at the Hales House. There's no way you're going to stay out of it," Siles said.

Miles sighed heavily.

Siles asked, "What was written in that manuscript?"

Miles said: "It probably means that there are bright stars hidden in the deep shadows... something like that. Something like that. The revealer who read the manuscript only had time to tell us this... His mental state collapsed in a short time up.

"It is said that it may be related to treasures, so people will read it. Some friends of the deceased told us that they are looking for wealth... That's why they are looking for this mysterious manuscript...

"The truth is, there are countless such explorers in the Everlands, so it's... also, in a sense, reasonable for them to die. We've all seen this kind of thing a lot."

Siles frowned because of Miles' attitude.

But..."The bright stars are hidden in the deep shadows", this sentence is a bit familiar.

After thinking for a moment, he thought of the reason - Dominic found a manuscript from Professor Kabell's "safe house".That came from the followers of Huddoka, and most likely from the ruins of the temple that Cendo and the expedition team discovered together.

In that manuscript, the believers of Huddoka faintly revealed a subtle guilt and uneasiness towards the fall of Huddoka, as if they caused the fall of Huddoka.

One line in the manuscript reads: "Damn! A bunch of liars! A bunch of crazy, shameless, mercenary liars!"

This sentence seems to subtly annotate the speculation that "Menawaka swallowed Huddoka".After all, in the public opinion, businessmen are mercenary.

However, what Siles cares about now is that there is also a sentence mentioned in the manuscript: "In the abyss destined to be evil, I saw the stars."

This is similar to what Miles is saying now.

The light of the stars... the dust of the stars.

There is a stardust mine near here.Siles thought.

I am afraid that many people know this matter.After all, it was impossible to hide the fact that a businessman was digging here last year. At most, it was impossible for someone to know the more specific location.

...stardust.

A subtle fear suddenly appeared in Siles' heart.

He thought, why can stardust be a necessary supplement for the Enlightenment potion?Why can star dust be used as an energy source, and even have such an efficient energy utilization rate?Why……

Those workers turned into statues?Why is it a statue?

Siles is very concerned about this matter.

Because, even if the workers died because of the "curse of the star dust", why was it possible to specifically mention the matter of the "statue"?How did they come into contact with the power of Huddoka?

Because of stardust?

But Stardust...why is Stardust related to Huddoka?Why would an ordinary stardust vein be associated with a specific, specific Old God?

What exactly is stardust?

The light of the stars...is it really so beautiful?Siles thought.

He thought of the rotten star eyes in the deep sea dream, and the spider crawling out of the rotten star eyes.

Siles' long silence didn't seem to surprise Miles either.He sighed and said, "We're kind of... at a loss. Tell the truth. Your kindness in looking into this, sir, is due to your kindness.

"But we...we don't have that much time to spare."

After speaking, he shook his head.

Siles came back to his senses, considered for a moment, and said, "Can you provide any clues about this matter?"

Miles thought for a moment, then said, "They all died in the camp, without exception. That's one of the common denominators."

Siles nodded.

Miles was about to say goodbye and leave when Siles suddenly remembered something and asked, "So, did you also find that manuscript on the head of the circus?"

"What?" Miles was obviously taken aback, then thought for a moment, and said, "I really don't know about it. After all, he didn't die long ago."

He called an investigator, questioned for a while, and then said strangely: "They didn't find that manuscript on the ringmaster."

Siles frowned subconsciously.

The cause of Mickey's death was the same as that of the other twenty or so dead, but the circumstances of the case seemed different.He thought about it and asked: "It's convenient...can I go to the scene to investigate?"

He pointed to the circus tent.

"You go, I will say hello to them." Miles nodded, and he said in a joking tone, "You are such a kind person, sir."

His behavior, Sirius thought, might seem unique in the Neverlands...but he wasn't meddling.

Mary said in good time: "However, Noe