Twenty Sided Dice

Siegel became more interested in the kingdom of the dwarves, and couldn't wait to support him to continue climbing the stone ladder. Above the snow line, the stone ladder will be covered with snow all the year round. After going through round after round of heavy pressure, the snow in some places has turned into ice, and the entire ladder is as smooth and round as crystal, making it very difficult to climb. Siegel carefully squatted on the steep wall, sometimes even using his chin as a fulcrum to help maintain his balance. The sickle was an extension of his arm, helping him to break through the ice, stopping at each step, moving up slowly and carefully.

This process is very long, and there is no room for mistakes. There were a few times Siegel tried to move faster, but the result of his foot slipping made him sober. He turned his head and looked down, the wind blew up the snow and obscured his vision, and he couldn't see the slow path of the winding mountain at all. Just a few steps below his feet, there was only snow in the air, nothing else. The elf master once said that the passage around the mountain opened by the dwarves is much easier to walk, and many sections are tunnels drilled into the mountain, which can avoid the storm and get a chance to breathe. But this stone ladder has always been exposed, always in the worst environment, and the harsh test is always there.

This feeling was even more obvious when he crossed the boundary of the clouds: the clouds mixed with snow flakes rolled around him, and the two or three steps in front of him were the limit of his vision. The icy wind whistled on the narrow stone ladder, and it often changed direction, as if there were many big hands tearing people out. Here, the hot air from the mouth can quickly freeze on the face, making the skin sore and swollen. Even though he wrapped his head in black veil, Siegel felt his eyes freezing. He often stopped to close his eyes hard, or rubbed his eyelids through the black gauze to generate heat, so that he could barely maintain his vision.

The cold wind is biting, these words have fully demonstrated their power. If she hadn't smeared butter all over her body, Siegel would have been killed by frostbite in no time. Sometimes he felt paralyzed all over and his muscles were shaking. Whenever this happened, he would take out the spirits from his arms, take a good sip, and rekindle the flames in his chest and abdomen to support his physical strength.

This is a very difficult test, but there is no way out, you can only grit your teeth and persevere. When fatigued, Siegel felt as if his lungs were incapable of working, and he couldn't get air no matter how hard he breathed. He also had the illusion that he had been frozen into one body with the mountain and would be left here forever. The most dangerous moment was another hallucination: Siegel once felt like he was still climbing and was struggling to move his hands and feet, when in fact he stopped in place and didn't move. Muscles do the same movement for a long time to create an illusion, and his mind feels the fatigue of the body and wants to rest, and also indulges the deception of this feeling. Siegel almost fell asleep on his stomach on the mountain road.

Fortunately, the howling wind suddenly woke him up, so he didn't fall into the sleep of death.

After passing through the clouds, the wind and snow became much smaller, but the coldness intensified. The snow flakes were blowing up from under his feet, making it difficult to balance, and Siegel always felt wobbly. Without the cloud cover, the reflection of the sun on the top of the snowy mountain was extremely dazzling, and Bai Huanghuang didn't dare to look around. Siegel almost pressed his nose against the mountain wall, his eyes were only fixed on the nearest stairs, and he moved up step by step, squeezing out the last strength in his body. Many times he thought he would surely die on this mountain road.

Until he climbed the platform of the gate of the Dwarven Kingdom on the top of Mora.

This is a natural cave in the mountain. The entrance of the cave is more than 50 meters high and more than 200 meters wide. It is like a huge mouth opened by a snow-capped mountain. The dwarves used this place as the entrance to the kingdom, built the city wall with the stone that has not been damaged for thousands of years, and made the gate of "never fall" with fine gold. Outside the city gate is a platform paved with a whole piece of rock. One side close to the ring road has an area for stacking goods, and the other side is completely empty, and no goods or travelers are allowed to approach. In the center of the open space is a low alloy column with seven supporting feet at the bottom, each of which is engraved with the family crest of one of the seven major clans that came here. A fist-sized diamond is placed on the short column, which is perfectly cut into 80 faces, exuding a dazzling light, which will grab everyone's attention. This is one of the prides of Mora's Pinnacle. There are three dwarven guards standing guard at all times. They wear heavy black full-body armor. The armor is inlaid with mithril, gems and mysterious runes, which are very easy to identify. One of them looks at the sky beyond the platform, one looks at the passage in front of the gate of the kingdom, and the last one will keep looking at the diamond itself. They hold the flags that symbolize the symbols of the three top clans, and the other hand uses a dwarf sword and shield, a special weapon that combines offense and defense. Except when changing the guard, they would stand like rocks, ignoring what happened on the platform. The three guards have only one purpose: to welcome the brave who can climb up the holy ladder.

It will take several years for someone here to make it to the top.

Siegel almost fainted from exhaustion when he climbed up, and he didn't notice the three dwarf guards. He just wanted to lie on the ground and stretch his limbs. He kept his eyes closed because of the pain in his eyes. So when he opened his eyes and saw three pure black armors with a beard that could be dragged to the ground under the helmets, especially when the six eyes were shining brightly, he was really shocked.

"Congratulations, brave man, through the real Silmarillion, we have witnessed your climbing process, and you will be called the brave man on the summit!"

The dwarf helped him up, asked his name, wrapped a wide golden belt around him, and fastened the three-pole flag behind his back. The surrounding dwarves cheered, and the news of the emergence of a new 'top warrior' would spread quickly. His name, his appearance, and his feats will be known to every dwarf on Mora's Pinnacle.

Siegel had a chance to look at the top of the mountain. When you are at the foot of the mountain, you can't see the top of the mountain, only the peaks in the clouds can be vaguely seen. Climbing up the mountain and looking down, the scenery is completely different. The sun was laying on the white snow clouds, and for a while, Siegel had the illusion that he was sailing at sea. Through the gaps between the clouds, he could see the vast land and villages and towns as small as grains of rice. If you look up, the summit of Mora's Peak is not far away, standing as majestic as a giant. A gust of wind blew through, and the snowflakes on the top of the peak were flying like a white flag. Like the majestic waves of the sea, the majestic and majestic mountains and stalwart shores are also a kind of wonder. Siegel stood on the edge of the cave, with his back to the majestic mountains, facing the endless sky and the vast earth, shouting forcefully, expressing the ecstasy in his heart. The top of Mora echoed him, and also let out a deafening roar, triggering an avalanche.

Siegel scratched his head and looked at the dwarf nervously.

"It's okay, don't worry." The dwarf was not in a hurry: "Tunnels have been built in places prone to avalanches, and no pedestrians will be injured because of it."

"I don't know if you have seen an elf lady, her name is Leia-Amastasya. She is my master, and we are looking for dwarves..."

"Come and find the dwarf Erinte-the invincible-diamond!" A voice next to him sounded like thunder.

Siegel looked over and saw the elf master standing behind a "huge" dwarf. The reason why a dwarf is described in this way is because he has the same size as a water tank, which is two laps thicker than ordinary dwarves. But this is not some dwarf who has become fat because he likes ale. On the contrary, he is very strong, his arms are thicker than Siegel's thighs, and his thighs are really like stone pillars. The dwarf was bald, with antifreeze on his skull, shining in the sun. His hair may have grown all over his face, and his thick, lush red beard was braided into seven braids, reaching down to the dwarf's belt. Wearing a bearskin coat, he came up and gave Siegel a warm hug. Siegel only felt that his whole body was tightly locked, and it was harder to break free than when he was caught by the trolls, and many places were in severe pain. After the dwarves were finished, Siegel was dragged by him to the adamantine gate of the kingdom, accompanied by Erinte's shouting: "This is my friend! Siegel-Squid, the brave climber!"

The dwarves cheered in unison again, while Leah smiled and applauded.

Erinte lives on the third floor from high to low on the top of Mora, which is the exclusive area of ​​the three top clans. The gem clan has a sprawling cave here and has transformed them into beautiful dwellings. Sturdy marble columns support the ceiling, and thick masonry walls are used to separate rooms with different functions. The walls are studded with raw gemstones, and the stove blazes brightly, giving the room a colorful glow. In the center of the room was a huge long table of tabby wood, which was twenty meters long and could seat fifty people. Erinte is here to fulfill her promise, entertaining his best friends. Most of the people seated were his relatives, while his apprentices helped. Excited dwarfs running around, knocking their elders tossed about, reminded Siegel of a game of pool that sailors used to play. All the dwarves wanted to come over to say hello to him, pat him excitedly, and shouted "Brave of the top" to congratulate him. Too many dwarves' faces are covered in hair, making it impossible to see. For outsiders, especially for Siegel, he can only tell the difference between two dwarves by his beard.

The table is full of delicious food, the sausages are piled up into mountains, the cheese is cut into large pieces, and the big bone broth in the stew pot is gushing with aroma. Five roasted golden and crispy fat sheep, biting apples in their mouths, glared at the surrounding dwarves to provoke them.

Dwarf children always want to reach for those delicious food, which is not allowed. The adult next to him will pick up such a naughty child and throw it out. The dwarves are very sturdy and thick-skinned. The children who were thrown out rolled around and laughed together.

Although I can't eat, I can drink alcohol. The ale here is very mellow, you can almost chew it in your mouth, and it is fragrant, cool and refreshing, with an endless aftertaste.

In another room, Siegel was changing clothes with the help of the dwarves—he now only had a robe to wear. On the way up the mountain, his chainmail shirt caused a lot of trouble. When he took off his clothes, he realized that he had suffered from frostbite in many places, and some skin and muscles had become atrophied, and even stuck to the armor. Fortunately, the dwarf has a doctor here who can give him preliminary treatment to prevent further deterioration of the injury.

"Kid Siegel! You are really working hard. For outsiders, that ladder can be regarded as a test of life and death. Fortunately, we are very experienced in treating frostbite. You can recover from these injuries, and it will not affect your ability to become a good fighter! Erint picked up the gold belt again, and continued: "This belt is the belt of honor of the dwarves, so that the wearer can be as strong and tough as the dwarves on the top of Mora. You wear it at all times, to your frostbite Recovery also helps."

Siegel put on his belt and hugged Erint tightly. He really liked the feeling of being surrounded by warm, friendly, straightforward dwarves. The old captain was like that too, so it felt like home again for Siegel.

Opening the door and stepping into the banquet hall, Siegel immediately smelled the fragrance, and his saliva was drooling. Erinte stood on the chair in the main seat, holding a glass of wine, next to Siegel and Leah. He shouted "Let's celebrate for the arrival of our friends!" and drank the wine. The banquet began, and the dwarves held a knife in one hand and a wine glass in the other, as if they were fighting on the battlefield with swords and shields. A few defiant fat sheep were torn apart in seconds and rolled into the dwarf's belly. However, the milk sheep here at the head of the table are protected from poisonous hands. This is prepared separately for the guests. At Erint's suggestion, Siegel picked up the knife and was the first to cut the meat. Under the knife, the baked crispy crust crackled and the hot oil dripped down. Siegel thought about it, and according to the rules of the sea, he found a thinner piece and put it on the elf master's plate.

"You must eat!" Erinte shouted loudly, and he seemed more excited than ever: "Eat quickly! Eat quickly!" He kept urging.

Leah picked up the knife and fork, cut a small piece gracefully, put it in her mouth, and chewed slowly. Then she took another sip of brandy, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and said slowly, "You don't really think I'm a vegetarian, do you?"

Erinte ignored his words at all, just slapped the table and asked Siegel to cut a piece for himself. He shouted: "Cut as much as you can eat, don't be polite!"

When Siegel heard this, he smiled happily. He waved the knife, perfectly showing the accuracy and sharpness of the elf swordsmanship, separating the sheep's head and two front legs from the sheep's body. Amid the loud applause of the dwarves, he had a plate of roast lamb that was still smoking.

It is difficult to perceive the passage of time in the cave inside the mountain, only that the banquet lasted for a long time. There are constantly new meats coming up, and new guests coming. Everyone laughed, sang, feasted, and enjoyed simple happiness.

Elf Leia didn't stay too long, she knew that her presence would make the dwarves unable to let go and celebrate. As she was leaving, she gave Siegel a wink to tell him to be careful. Siegel's mind was all about fighting the barbecue at that time, and he failed to understand the meaning of his eyes. The consequence was that he was drunk by the dwarves as many as three times.