A strange world

Mr. Fast did not come back on his own. He also brought a friend from the city - a female dwarf.

Dwarves may sound interesting to some people with small quirks, but their barrel-like stature, which is closely related to dwarves, will put them off.

If that's hard to understand, just imagine that a dwarf weighs about the same as a human, but is only as tall as an adult's belly.

And crucially, even female dwarves have thick, coarse beards and hair.

If Annan can still treat Tasia as a woman after knowing that she is a woman, it is difficult to distinguish his attitude towards the female dwarf Annan.

The female dwarf is called Soruman Bronzebeard, a very stereotypical dwarf name.

In any case, Annan wanted to talk to Soruman Bronzebeard because of the novelty, but the female dwarf didn't like him very much. In the dwarven aesthetics, Annan, who does not have much body hair and does not have a healthy wheat-colored complexion, looks like a plucked quail.

"What about me?"

Martin, who felt that he was very hairy, approached and wanted to help Annan gain favor, but was kicked away by Mr. Fast.

"Get out and clean the table, don't let me check the dust."

Mr. Fast and the female dwarf got into the tavern cellar, Evelin wiped the counter, and Annan opened the tavern door and windows to dispel the musty wood smell from the tavern.

The sky behind the roof at the corner showed a gorgeous sunset, and a few pedestrians were on their way home. The tranquility and beauty of this moment made Annan understand why an elite professional would open a tavern here.

However, for a boy, nothing is as attractive as adventure and stories.

"It is going to rain."

Annan wiped the window sill, looked at the sunset and talked to himself.

"I hope I can."

The minstrel appeared outside the window, carrying his lute on his back, the cocktail feathers on his hat swaying in the evening breeze.

"Do you like rain too?"

“It’s just that the rainy atmosphere is more suitable for storytelling.”

The bard walked into the tavern and hung his hat on the hanger. "Your common language has improved again."

Annan accepted the compliment: "Aren't you in town these days?"

A person who loves the limelight may not necessarily be a bard, but a bard must love the limelight, and Annan has not heard where the bard is running these days.

The bard said that he went to a neighboring town first, and was kicked out by his colleagues just after he found the tavern before he started working part-time. He happened to meet Mr. Fast and hitched a ride to Breeze City.

So when Mr. Fast and Soruman Bronzebeard came up from the wine cellar, he greeted them without any surprise.

The tavern reopened, and Mr. Fast and Soruman Bronzebeard sat in the corner to discuss matters. Evelyn watched over the counter, Martin looked left and right, and Annan urged the bard to start today's story.

Because it has been closed for seven days, there are not many customers tonight, they are all regular customers that Annan can also name. It seems that Annan is very interested in dwarves. The bard told a lot about dwarves.

In addition to the well-known dwarves who like drinking and forging, there are also the dislike between dwarves and elves, as well as the meaty stories that are most suitable for telling in taverns: Will humans and dwarves give birth to half-dwarves or dwarfs if they marry.

This story is officially confirmed by Soruman Bronzebeard: Dwarves and humans cannot have children.

Annan knew that this was called reproductive isolation, but Soruman Bronzebeard said that the dwarf gods were preventing the dwarf blood from being tarnished——

This topic then extended an interesting chain of prejudices: Generally speaking, humans are responsible for orthodoxy, orcs are responsible for barbarism, elves are responsible for arrogance, dwarves are responsible for stubbornness, and ratmen are responsible for reproduction.

Soruman Bronzebeard sneered at this and bluntly stated that humans have the lowest potential among the major races. Orcs who grow into teenagers have the strength of a level 1 warrior. Elves are born to be the best rangers. Skaven can multiply dozens of times in one summer. Dwarves are not born with forge, but an adult dwarf's arms are twice as thick as an adult human's arms——

This evaluation is not biased against any race, and even the bard can only agree with it and glorify it as "human beings are the most balanced race."

As long as the dragons live to adulthood, they are legends, and the gods possess innate terrifying power.

Potential corresponds to the ability to reproduce. Therefore, whether in this world or other worlds, human potential is not high.

The so-called "orthodox" is probably because humans are present in every world and are also favored by gods.

"Singer, tell me something else."

Mr. Fast rapped on the table. Soruman Bronzebeard only talked to him and didn't talk about business anymore.

The bard played the lute lightly, drawing the attention of the guests and Annan back to the story, and told what he had seen in Breeze City.

It was a city located in the forest, connecting the snow-capped mountains in the north and the green fields in the south, with winding roads extending in all directions. There you can not only enjoy the snowy scenery of Beorut's northern land, but also overlook the vast expanse of plains.

Pinglin Town can fit into one block there, and a dozen professionals can be doused by just pouring a basin of water on the street. The north city gate is crowded with adventurers and mercenary groups returning from hunting in the snowy mountains.

Annan listened fascinatedly, and time passed quietly.

At about nine o'clock in the evening, there was a dull thunder outside and the whine of the wind.

Prophecy?

The bard looked at Annan in surprise.

The guests left one after another, not wanting to be trapped in the tavern on a rainy night.

"There should be no more guests."

No customers except drunkards will come on a rainy day. Mr. Fast asked Annan and the others to go home as soon as the rain stopped and clean up after work tomorrow.

After watching the three little guys run out of the tavern and closing the door that let in the cold wind, Fast looked at the bard who put down his lute and sat in front of him.

"Aren't you going back yet?"

"You don't know what I discovered..." The bard pulled the oil lamp and said mysteriously: "Annan may have prophecy..."

"When I came over he said it was going to rain, but it was sunny at that time."

"I can say it every day, and one day I will be right." Fast sat across from him.

"Prophecy? A boy who doesn't know Common and has no magic power?" Soruman Bronzebeard was also saying.

"You are a warrior and you don't know if he has magic power, and he may be hiding it."

Fast realized that the bard had no reason to be blind: "What did you find?"

"I heard some news in Breeze City." The bard leaned closer to the oil lamp, making his face vivid and clear. "The next lord of Breeze City, the only male of the Reeves family, was attacked."

"What does this have to do with prophecy?" said the hasty dwarf.

"Of course!"

The bard whispered, telling a story about his subsequent discovery: "As I walked around the city, I heard the sound of the wind..."

"Everyone in the Reeves family has special black hair."