Pawel stepped off the deck of the paddleboat and pulled on his hood.
The southern sun was warm, the gravel was soft and clean underfoot, and the sea breeze carried a faintly salty scent.
Pava surveyed the others around her.
One by one, the backpacked explorers travelled in groups, carrying bows and arrows and shields, with different accents and skin colours. Most of these people wore soft leather armour and had swords and knives strapped to their hips, and as soon as they stepped off the ship, they were eager to head towards the forest.
The sailors, on the other hand, sat in twos and threes, resting and eating pickled grapes on the rocks along the shore.
In the shadow of the oared schooner was a scholar with tanned skin. He had set up a wooden easel, covered it with a roll of sheepskin, and sketched a map of this new land on it with charcoal.
Another apothecary carried a medicine chest and picked various herbs on the outskirts of the forest.
In addition, there are three dwarves who are talking.
Pava had dealt with a clan of dwarves. They had settled in the fortress outside the ghost city of Saniro, and every one of them was a good ironworker, just not a very good drinker on the side.
When these three dwarves boarded the ship, they had a fight with the captain. It left a deep impression on Pava.
The captain argued that the dwarves were each clad in bronze armour, which weighed exactly the same as two to three men. So each of them must pay double the ship’s fare.
After an argument, the dwarves helped the captain repair a number of iron weapons and improved the captain’s half-armour. The captain not only waived the ship’s fee, but also gave them a jar of ale.
Pawar looked on with envy.
With a good trade, one would never go hungry anywhere.
Right now, Pava has caught the attention of the dwarves.
One of the dwarves came over and gestured to him, pointing forward, “You?”
“Me, me, me.”
The dwarf pointed first to himself and then to his two companions next to him.
“That way.”
The dwarf points further ahead to the forest.
Pava reads the other man’s meaning.
So he too pointed a finger at the three dwarves and himself before turning to the forest, “We together?”
The dwarf at the head of the group laughed loudly, “Yes, yes!”
They wanted to pair up with themselves.
Pawel didn’t understand why, was it because he was dressed in black?
It was a sign of having advanced from the seminary. However, one was not qualified to wear the [Holy Flower] on one’s chest, because for five consecutive years, Pava had failed the final theology test.
He had read the Gospel and the Brief History of the Tribes over and over again, the paper was worn to the point of bristling, and in the end, he still couldn’t give the answers that the scholars wanted.
Instead, it was the History of the Changes in the Salt City, written by the Prophet Doronunu, which Pawar read with great interest, backwards and forwards.
Every fragment in it, Pava remembered by heart: the tragedy of the Hundred Years’ Battle outside the castle, the majesty of the gods bending the Blood Knights, the magnificence of the founding of the Salt City, the pride of the city’s lighthouse, the excitement of the Twin Cities’ intersection …… and even the tragedy and suffering of the last slave era.
After failing the sixth year seminary exam, Pava was thrown out of the seminary.
He would not be able to wear the [Sacred Flower], as that was the mark of a full scholar. He remained an apprentice, and could only wear the black clothes of an apprentice that represented having studied at the seminary.
Pawar resolved that he would follow the example of the Prophet Doronunu and write the story that belongs to each individual, so that it can be seen and heard by as many people as possible.
……
He was in the old ale theatre in Yao City, listening to people talk about the ghost that floated around the theatre. People said it was Mukhor, the genius inventor who had once died in the theatre.
Mu Ke had lost here to the previous generation’s prophet, Hemera, and his dead spirit had refused to leave.
It is said that if you play Tribal War Flag in the theatre, you will sometimes hear the laughter of Mukhor.
Pava learned to play tunes on a bullhorn and conch at the theatre.
……
In the mountains between Yao City and Salt City, Pawar visits the ascetics and hears the tortuous experiences of the Grand Elder, Saltjou. In the ascetics who abstained from desires, Pawar saw the refining of the will by the flame of faith.
In their asceticism they gained the guidance and gifts of the gods, and very few of them even stepped into realms beyond the mundane, possessing incredible powers.
……
Upon arriving in Salt Lake City, Pawar heard people tell stories about the two mayors. In the past, the merchant leagues and fishing companies had been racking their brains to sell various houses and raise money to build roads and walls.
So strapped for cash that the mayor of Yulian even considered renting out the iconic lighthouse to merchants for a while and then redeeming it when Salt Lake City had the money to do so.
At that time, Prophet Doronunu was still a chief, and he bought three mayor’s houses in a row. It was not that the chief was stupid, but he found Shangli and Yulian interesting and bought two houses to make friends with them.
……
In the southern ghost town of Saniro, Pawar met the hardest working sandworms and saw fishmen lazily lying sun-dried on the ground.
Though unable to see the city’s ghostly inhabitants, Pawar recorded many stories there. He picked cotton and repaired dams with the fishmen, dug and mined with the sandworms. Pawar counted and collected sea shells for the dwarves as they pushed their carts into the city to sell various iron and copper tools.
……
Pavar had experience with dwarves in Saniro and got acquainted with the three dwarves quickly.
The three dwarves were called Tall and Strong, Mighty and Fierce, and Flaming Cloud.
They can manage to pronounce their names accurately and can understand simple Yao language.
These three formed an adventuring group [Blast Furnace Wonders]. After failing to find the Land of the Falling Sun at sea, they travelled to the southern New Continent in search of treasure.
The reason why Pava was asked to come along was because the dwarves found out on the sea ship that Pava was also alone.
This Yao youth loved to write and could also play beautiful melodies with a conch – which was important, just as much as the dwarves’ ironworking, which represented proficiency.
The Dwarven Adventure Group requests Pava.
If they die here, ask Pava to write down their adventures and tell the other dwarves in the Dwarf Fortress, so that the name of [Blast Furnace Wizards] will be passed down in the fortress.
Pava promises.
The improvised squad had only entered the forest when they came face to face with a strong enemy.
A pack of forest wolves paced the forest, patrolling the territory.
Each of these transcendent beasts exuded an aura that made people tremble, totalling over fifty.
For a moment, Paiva was so scared that her body stiffened and her calves cramped.
The dwarves pulled him behind them.
They formed a defensive formation, shielding Pavar and slowly retreating as they confronted the wolves.
The forest wolves didn’t attack, just glanced at them and continued towards the front. It seemed like they had some sort of important mission.
The dwarves were a bit puzzled for a moment and looked towards Pava.
Pava was a little nervous inside.
This situation …… he has never encountered before.
Paiva clenched his teeth and hardened his head even as he said, “There must be something in the forest that attracts these transcendental creatures. It could be a treasure, or it could be ……”
“Treasure!”
The three dwarves were keen on the word, and they perked up at once.
“Charge charge charge!”
The trio of dwarves swung the axes and hammers in their hands.
Pava is tempted to say, how about next time?
But seeing the dwarves’ expectant gazes and trusting expressions, Pawar couldn’t really say it.
He could only say, “We’ll take a look when they’re gone.”
……
Two days later, Pavar and the dwarves escaped all the way out of the forest in disarray.
The forest wolves behind them showed their teeth at them, their green eyes flashing ferociously. Being stared at by this pair of eyes made Pava’s scalp numb.
He knew very well that this was the wolves’ last warning.
When the wolves saw that they were honest, they turned around one by one and returned to the forest.
The three dwarves and Pava built a fire by the beach. Pawar relied on his experience of islander life, catching fish in the sea and finding fresh water in puddles, and was able to fill his stomach for a while.
That same day, they saw many adventurers running out of it in a heap. Some fled straight back to the paddle sailing ship, some cursed but didn’t dare to go further into the forest.
Seeing this scene, Pava and the others were in a slightly better mood.
In the middle of the night, a man approached their fire.
The man looked tired and had many scars on his face and hands. He was clad in worn copper armour and carried a hammer, much like the style of the dwarves.
“Can we have a fire?”
Pure Yancheng accent.
Pavar looked at the three dwarves, and the dwarves did not object.
So the outsider sat down cross-legged.
Pawel felt that there was something familiar about the looks of the person in front of him.
Long ago memories were suddenly touched.
Pava froze for a moment, then said excitedly, “You are Mr Copper Sea, the slave liberator? You saved me, you probably don’t even remember, I always remember your help ……”
Coppersea froze, the smile on his face falling a little.
“This forest has been taken over by wolves, giant lizards, and tree people, and there shouldn’t be any slave traders inside. They are bullying and not that bold.” Paiva handed Copper Sea a grilled fish.
The two sides chatted with each other for a while, and Pava was accidentally gushing.
He told of his experiences at the Copper Sea, which he knew better than the man across the street, of roundabout gangway battles at sea, of three raids on harbours, of the burning of lighthouses, of the routing of slave squares. ……
“It’s all in the past.”
Copper Sea slowly nibbled on the grilled fish and digressed, “I found an interesting monster on this continent. Do you guys want to go and take a look together?”
“That guy calls himself the ‘Fairy of the Lake’.”
“But she can’t hide it from me, it’s actually a tree demon. I just don’t know why, but she likes to hang out by the sea.”
Pava looked at the three dwarves with a leap of faith, and he asked cautiously, “Is that tree demon dangerous?”
“Not too easy to tell.”
“If someone would be her husband and tell her stories every day, she’d be willing to give him a lot of babies. I think ……”
Coppersea looked to Pava.
The three dwarves look to Pava as well.
“What are you looking at me for ……” Pava frowned.
Telling stories every day?
Well, there’s a limit to human storytelling!
How can that be done!
