In the dark room, dust was gently rising and falling under the moonlight. On top of the silk cushion, a long sword was lying quietly. The blade was long and narrow, bright, spotless, and glowed with a faint silver light.

.The abstract pattern is like a flame, extending upward along the spine of the sword, and eventually grows into several vines, surrounding a line of beautiful fairy text:

'gatt's dárkáun,suésl's flaé??m; luáth's március,ctam's réshett.'

‘Sleep with the dragon, hide with the stars;

Rising with the moon, shining with the fire.’

Mazak was silently picking up the sword, his calm eyes staring directly at the sword's edge emitting cold light in the dark environment. Thousands of years of inheritance could not leave the slightest mark on it, as if it benefited from the exquisite skills of the fairies.

, it may also be the blessing from the gods of Ori.

It has an ancient name:

——The fairy's companion, Jalapea.

The inn owner's deep eyes were entangled with many memories of the past years. His ancestors, clansmen, and close relatives all emerged from his thoughts one by one, but in the blink of an eye, they turned into thousands of fragments and disappeared one after another.

In a huge, black vortex.

He seemed to see the silver sand sea again, flowing quietly under the moonlight that had not changed for thousands of years.

And what was reflected in the dark eyes was the deep prison underground in Idos, which was a deep and dark tunnel. Finally, the darkness gradually faded away, and what emerged from it was the face of his sister. She was the same as thirty years ago.

There's not much difference.

Under the moonlight, he used a rag to wipe the sword blade carefully from bottom to top.

His movements were careful and slow, as if he were treating his lover, but the dragon slayer has no love anymore, only fate and the ancient curse are looming like a shadow - on the desk in front of him, in the bright moonlight, there is a letter. Silver-white

On the envelope, there was a line of small words written neatly:

‘Mr. Mazak personally declares——’

On the lower signature, stamped with an Istanian seal, is the word 'Ed'.

The seal of the letter was open, and the letter inside was pulled out and pressed under the envelope.

Mazak raised his eyelids and read the letter. His eyes lingered on the seal for a long time. How long had it been since he saw such a seal? That sea of ​​sand often appeared in his dreams. Recently,

He began to dream again - dreaming about some childhood friends and people who had long since passed away.

And my own sister.

A soft sigh came from inside the house.

After a while, Mazak realized that it was his own voice. He raised his head and looked at the other side of the hall - there used to be a huge dragon horn hanging there, but it was empty this morning.

The originally brightly lit hall was also deserted at this moment. The torches on the stone walls no longer lit up, leaving only the dark iron grooves - the chandeliers on the wooden beams, like bare shelves, were still hanging on them.

There, but no longer had the bright and charming flame of the suet candle above.

There were originally many tables and chairs in the hall, but now they are all stacked one by one and idle in a corner, making the hall look unusually empty.

At the only table, Mazak still remembered that about a year ago, several teenagers were sitting here. There was an elf lady and a short papalar, and the appearance of one of them made him still confused.

I still remember it very clearly.

An emblem with the image of a huge dragon with a broken horn was lying flat on the table. Beside the sword box, there was a deep slash mark on the emblem - the other side of the emblem was the only thing left on the wall.

The decoration is an ancient hanging painting.

The middle-aged man with short silver-gray hair on the hanging painting seemed to be staring at the hall with serious eyes.

The opponent also held an identical sword in his hand.

The time has almost arrived - he seems to be able to hear the sound of blood flowing slowly in his body, sometimes like a trickle, sometimes like a rushing river, and the continuous sound sometimes makes people feel an impulse - it seems

That voice is inciting something.

But Mazak knew what it was, and he was able to control his own heart and let it not be affected by it at all.

That voice might take advantage of him at a very vulnerable moment, but it would never be at this moment.

There was the sound of someone opening the door in the darkness.

Since the hotel closed, most of the little monsters who originally lived and worked here have also been dismissed - no one has carefully oiled each door shaft of the hotel, so at this moment, the door makes a tooth-breaking "squeak"

The sound was particularly eye-catching in the empty hall.

But Mazak didn't even raise his head, still focusing on the movements of his hands.

A voice came from the darkness: "In the end, you sold this place to those people?"

"I want to find a better home for it," Mazak replied with his head lowered while wiping his sword: "A trustworthy heir. Unfortunately, time has passed and I can't do this. I was originally optimistic about a successor.

Young man, but it seems that this is not his intention."

He wiped the sword blade one last time before raising his head and facing that direction: "Those people are just decent businessmen. This place may not be called this name in the future, but that's fine, let it be an ordinary hotel."

Bar."

The middle-aged man standing in the darkness had a very serious face. He was wearing a black robe and a large cloak outside the robe. If Fang Plover were here, he might recognize this man who had been with them in Dolifen.

'Strangers' who lived an adventure side by side.

But after that illusion ended, the two parties never met again.

The middle-aged man took off his cloak and hung it on a row of wooden hooks on the wall: "Is it time?"

Mazak nodded.

He carefully placed the sword on his knee, then closed the sword box with one hand, and replied: "Last November was supposed to be the time the other party had scheduled, but the incident of Dolifen disrupted the followers of the Dragon Cult.

plan, so there will be a series of follow-ups to Charter City later.

Nicol Bolas has always been wary of us, and I went to Charter City several times but found nothing, but I have received some news recently, and the other party should be ready."

The middle-aged man joked: "I thought we should be ready."

"I was ready twenty years ago," Mazak replied calmly: "But without complete assurance, it will not appear."

"Indeed, she is such a person."

The middle-aged man nodded.

"Do you still remember what happened last time we were in Rodel?" He asked: "It was only one step away at that time. If it hadn't been for that failure, we wouldn't have to wait until today."

Mazak replied calmly: "But if it hadn't failed that time, we might not have succeeded this time."

"indeed so."

The middle-aged man replied: "She is your sister after all."

Mazak shook his head slightly.

The middle-aged man was silent for a moment, and then said: "I heard recently that many people went to the depths of Traveler's Swamp to look for the 'obelisk' that did not exist. Last month and the month before, there was one each.

The adventure group is missing."

He paused for a moment, then continued: "There are similar rumors about the Holy Chosen One. I inquired about the news, and it was in Balmedil, which is already close to the shadow of the Dragon Roaring Mountains, that we are going to reach.

It will take at least two months."

He looked at the hall again and said again: "Are you really planning to keep Sayek?"

"He is old, and long-distance travel is no longer suitable for him," Mazak nodded. "Shayek has been with me for many years, but he is not of the Oath Keepers lineage. He was born in Rodel, but

I still spend the longest time in my life here.”

"I have already negotiated with those people. He will stay here and continue to manage this hotel until the end. Mr. El Paxin's consul will guarantee this contract for the sake of the royal family.

, this contract should be able to be maintained until the end——"

"The arrangement is very thorough," the middle-aged man replied noncommittally, his eyes falling on the letter on the table: "That letter?"

"Letter from Ed."

Mentioning this name, a hint of surprise appeared on the middle-aged man's serious face: "I remember them."

"In Doliphon?"

The middle-aged man—or Rune Lincius nodded.

However, he didn't seem to intend to dwell on this topic anymore. He just asked: "So everything has been arranged. When do you plan to hit the road?"

Mazak picked up the sword in his hand, the blade shining brightly in the moonlight.

He stood up, carefully put the sword into the scabbard, then faced Rune and replied calmly:

"now."

…

"Ms. Kusu!"

Fang Yu looked at the person who appeared in front of him with some surprise.

He has been busy with a lot of things at hand recently, and he almost forgot about the other party and his team of lumberjacks. On the one hand, the investigation of the slave traders has also been at a deadlock since the search at their foothold.

The evidence at hand was not enough to point to the other party's whereabouts after leaving Tansnier. He only reported the letter and his speculation to the Stargate Port, but as he thought, since there was no key evidence

, the other party just asked him to continue investigating.
To be continued...