[Comprehensive English and American] Ripples in time and space

In a blink of an eye, it has been several years since Malcolm passed away, and his relatives and friends gradually came out of their grief, and the soldiers and knights in Lothering gradually accepted the fact that both the Sergeant Major and the Patrol Captain were taken over by foreigners .At least, on this morning, when a guard rushed into Kelly's office, the shout of "captain" was sincere.

"What's the matter?" Kelly looked up from the report on the case, and saw the panic-stricken soldier on the opposite side, frowning slightly, stood up, and habitually pressed the hilt of his waist with one hand.

"The baron is calling urgently." The soldier gasped, "I heard——I heard it's a plague..."

"The plague?!" Kelly exclaimed in surprise.Of course, she wasn't surprised at all, but she still had to pretend to be shocked, "Okay, I'll go right away."

Running all the way, when she rushed to the stables at the entrance of the village, Bucky was already riding on another horse.Without saying a word, Kelly got on the horse, and the two quickly galloped away side by side.The baron's castle is still quite a distance away from Lothering. It seems that the two of them are the only ones in Lothering who were recruited - this is normal, the plague does not need to send out the power of the Templars. If they simply deploy troops, the two of them It was enough to represent Lozelling.

"Now, the other boot has finally come down." While galloping, Bucky turned his head and asked her, "What are you going to do to persuade Hawk and the others to move?"

"I'd rather you say it." Kelly wrinkled her nose slightly, "Cavo is also angry with me now-why can't every teenager be as sweet as you in adolescence?"

"Adolescent me? Sweet?" Bucky laughed, "Did you forget how many times I fight a week?"

"At least you don't quarrel with the girls." Kelly complained, "Well, I'll persuade Maria to move to Kirkwall when I go back, and how to persuade Kavo to go with them is her problem—speaking of it, Do you think if we can prevent Ostagar's big defeat, can we stop the plague army there and not enter Ferelden?"

"If it's held there, Ferelden's southern border won't be much of a problem," Bucky said. "It faces the sea to the east, as long as Lake Callanhard in the west is held—the mountains to the west are where the dwarves are, as long as they hold it there." Stay, it's fine."

Kelly thought about the map and nodded.They chatted a little more casually about how the baron would deploy his troops, and stopped when they saw the castle come into view.Soldiers took over their horses at the gate of the castle. Kelly and Bucky hurried into the castle and saw a row of soldiers standing in the baron's office. The two of them were relatively late, but not the latest of.

The baron, who rules Lothering and a large area around it, is in his fifties and has grown a full head of gray hair, but still maintains a warrior figure.Kelly and Bucky touched their chests and bowed to him, then retreated to the side, standing together with knight commanders, sergeant majors and various military leaders from other regions.The middle-aged knight next to him handed over a letter, Kelly received it, read it at a glance, and then passed it to Bucky.Sure enough, the letter was an order to dispatch troops from the king of Ferelden—the plague was approaching from the south, and the king would lead the army to fight, and the lords must also send part of their troops to fight. Ostaga assembled.The south of Ferelden is a towering mountain range, and Ostaga is a very important strategic fortress, and it is a strong pass that guards the southern gate of Ferelden.

The baron has been pacing anxiously, looking up at them from time to time in detail, as if evaluating something.Less than half an hour later, the soldiers from the farthest area also rushed to read the letter, and the baron finally stood still and looked at them seriously.

"Very well," he said. "You are all aware of the situation. I will send an army of 400 men, 80 from each town. Which of you will volunteer to lead the army?"

Kelly and Bucky immediately took a step forward.

"I am willing!"

"Please send me!"

A little behind them, three others also stood up.The baron looked around and nodded to two of them: "Benjamin, the child just turned one year old, right? Go back. Larry, you too."

The two retreated a little reluctantly.The baron continued to look at the remaining three people: "Barnes, you will lead the army; Cosmo and Lawrence, you two will be deputy. Now everyone goes back to rectify the army. I want to see 400 people gather here in the castle tonight. Tomorrow Depart in the morning. Do you understand?"

All bowed to their command, and thus ended the unusually short meeting, perhaps the Baron himself was disturbed by the news.They had conducted assembly exercises before, and the sergeant majors in several villages and towns briefly discussed the assembly point and scattered back.

There was quite a distance between Lozelling and the baron's castle, and there was still a little tight time to arrive at the castle to set up camp before dark, so the two hurried back, handed over their duties to their deputy, and hurried home to pack their luggage.Halfway through packing, there was a knock on the door. Bucky went to answer the door, and was surprised to find that it was the three siblings Maria, Bethany, and Kawo.

"We heard the news." Maria said, stepping through the door, "Are you going to Ostaga?"

"Yes." Kelly nodded while packing her spare armor.

"I think it's better for you to bring this." Maria said and handed over a long staff.Kelly reached out to take it by accident, and looked at this unusual staff—the shortest staff in this world is 1.5 meters six, and the length is 1.8 meters/nine, and this staff is relatively short.But the most unusual thing is that it is not entirely carved out of wood, but the upper half is made of wood with Lyrium patterns on the head and half of the staff, while the lower half is a sharp blade more than half a meter long. Blade - it's like splicing the blade of a sword and a staff together.Kelly held the middle section with her hand, made gestures a few times, and found that this staff can indeed be used as a long-range attack or as a melee weapon.Of course, you have to be careful not to scratch yourself when using it, but with Kelly's skills, this kind of thing is impossible.

"I remember that this is Malcolm's most used staff in the past." She said, quite moved, "Have you decided? It may only be dusty in my hands, after all, I still can't reveal my identity as a mage-- "

"It's better for you to take it." Maria said firmly, "We won't need it either. Besides, when the war starts, maybe you will need it sometime? You can't always be without a staff. "

"Thank you." Bucky interjected, "Kelly, I also think you should accept it, even if it's just in case."

"Okay, then thank you." Kelly smiled, and carefully put the staff aside, "Speaking of the plague—do you have any plans to move? If Ostaga falls, it will be very uncomfortable here." Safety."

"Ostaga fell?" Bethany asked in surprise, "Are you guys so unconfident in Ostaga?"

"Just in case," Bucky said. "What are your plans?"

All three of them looked blank for a moment. "I... never thought about this. I mean, I never thought that I would encounter a plague in my life." Bethany said, shaking her head.

"Maybe go north." Maria said, the answer was so obvious that it was almost like not saying, "Maybe...to Kirkwall? I remember we seem to have an uncle there..."

"That's right, Mom mentioned that she has an older brother in Kirkwall." Carver said, "The three of you can go there first—"

"What do you mean, the three of us?" Maria asked, "What about you?"

"Of course I'm going to Ostaga." Carvo said, puffing out his chest in dissatisfaction. "It's the worst case if you can't stand it there, but as long as you can hold it—"

"Mom won't let it, Carvo!" Bethany said.

"If everyone thinks this way, then no one will fight against the plague." Kavo said dissatisfied, "I'm going to contribute, otherwise why have I practiced for so many years?"

"Why does it have to be you?" Maria asked, "You've only just turned up!"

"I--"

"Hey, don't start a fight," Bucky cut them in. "That's great, Carvo, and it's great that you think that way. But I don't approve of it for family or friends—me and Kelly went there out of responsibility, you don't have to go. And practicing martial arts is not just to fight the plague, you also need to protect your mother and sister."

Kavo snorted: "With Maria here, do they need my protection?"

"Don't forget, neither Maria nor Bethany can use magic openly." Bucky reminded him, "So they really need your protection."

"That's only on the premise that we must go to Kirkwall." Maria turned to him, frowning, "but you're talking as if Ostaga will definitely fail. What's going on?"

Bucky hesitates, and instead of answering her directly, he turns to Kelly: "...I think they have a right to know," he said.

Kelly also hesitated for a moment and did not respond directly.Bucky added, "Or you can try to convince them in other ways, and then we'll have to get to the castle in the middle of the night."

"...Okay." Kelly sighed and gave in. She took out the Pensieve, placed it in front of the three of them, pressed her wand against her temple, pulled out a strand of silver thread, and put it in.