Arcane Journey

Chapter 114 Rebellion
The empty courtyard was extremely silent, and there was only one guard on the battlements on the inner wall who had pulled his cloak tightly against the cold, huddled in a corner alone, bored.

Music, dance and music flowed out from the open window not far away, which was the kind of decadent music that Brian didn't like to hear the most.

"Your lord can receive you, Mr. Wizard."

A steady voice came, and Brian followed the voice.

He saw that the knight who came to summon him was tall and thin, with a well-defined face, brown messy hair, a sword hanging from his waist, and a khaki cloak buckled on his shoulder with the heavy copper buckle of a Bactrian camel.

"What's your name?" He got up from the stone bench and asked casually.

"Zander." The knight spoke with a bit of arrogance, "I am Lord Graal's cousin, and I have the honor to command his guards. Come with me."

Brian exchanged glances with the half-elf poet Elend next to him, and followed.

As the emissary of the Battle Mage of Cormyr, he came to the manor of Graal, one of the two actual rulers of Mokou Town.

The purpose is naturally to persuade the lord to turn his back on the battlefield and help him deal with the forces of Shadow City and Sanlin Tower that will occupy Mokou Town.

However, when Tuka and Lando brought them here, a banquet was being held inside, and in the end they could only be placed in a remote corner of the manor to wait.

The knight called Zander led them through a dark hall, down a flight of worn stairs, and through a grove of oaks that grew so tall and tangled that they enveloped all the birches and elms around them.

The oak's thick branches squeezed even into the walls and the windows in the walls, their roots were as thick as the waist of a man-grown man, and their trunks were huge.

Knight Zander opened a rusted iron door, stopped to light a torch, and when it was glowing red, he led them down some more steps to a cellar with a barrel ceiling.

"Where are we going?" The poet Elend looked around curiously, his voice echoing softly in the darkness.

Bryan noticed that the bard's face was as composed as ever.

This surprised him a little.

You must know that in this strange place, the reason why he was able to behave so calmly was that apart from being able to evacuate at any time, one of the reasons was that he had a better understanding of the merchant lords in Mokou Town.

Obviously, this person is very likely to be the same as him.

"We're on the stairs under the stairs, right below the manor, up to Newcastle."

The knight said calmly, "This is a secret road, Your Excellency, the entire Mokou town is full of spies from the Sanlin Tower Society. Although in my opinion, this is completely superfluous, but my cousin insists on doing it."

At the end of the stairs was another wall, and they came to the room behind the wall.

The room was warm and comfortable, furnished with all kinds of furniture, a Sambia rug on the floor, and some beeswax candles on the table.

Faintly, Brian heard the playing of the flute and the harp, and felt the faint tremors from above through his own "vibration perception" characteristic.

This made him realize that the banquet above was far from over.

A faded parchment map hung on one wall of the room, showing the terrain north of Cormyr, with the Gnoll Pass in the Stormhorn Mountains additionally marked.

Fat Lord Graal sat just below the map, his son Lando standing beside him.

As described by the poet Ellende, the richest man in Mokou Town is very fat, and the padded armchair he occupies can accommodate three people of ordinary stature, but Graal still sits a bit cramped.

He managed to squeeze himself into the seat, shrugging his shoulders, his legs spread out, and his hands resting on the armrests, as if they were too heavy to lift.

"Please sit down." Lord Graal raised his hand, showing thick fingers like sausages from his sleeves, "Is there anything else you two need? If you are thirsty, here is wine."

"I'm here to negotiate with you. The king appointed me, not to drink with you." Brian looked at the fat lord and stated his purpose straight to the point.

"The king? That's your king, not mine." Lord Graal showed disdain on his fat face. He pointed to the ceiling and said, "Maybe there are Cormyr's enemies up there, but not mine. "

"Not even the one who killed your son and wife?" Brian pondered for a moment, then said meaningfully, "Do you think it's a coincidence that the adult red dragon in the year of flames is desperate?"

He knew that Lord Graal had three children. Lando's elder brother was killed in the Red Dragon Rebellion ten years ago, and his younger sister was trapped in a book with a hidden secret.

"The adult red dragon was a good thing done by the Baron of the Rockland in Cormyr." Knight Zander stepped forward and said in a cold voice:
"He was the one who brought the maddened red dragon here. This damned beast also burned my wife and son to death. If the people from the Sanlin Tower hadn't killed the red dragon in time, we would all have died under the flames of the dragon. .”

"My child has always been a brave warrior. Ten years ago, he faced the dragon and died like a hero. I am not surprised by that." Lord Graal said sadly.

"This blatant lie has surprised me from ear to ear." The poet Ellend said in a mocking tone, "If you even believe this kind of lie that cannot withstand any scrutiny, I don't think it is a big deal. It's time to talk."

"I think so too." Brian approves of the poet's words.

"Let's go, I didn't come here to see you pitifully praising your enemies, insulting and belittling those heroes who once saved Mokou Town from the flames." He left behind a sentence and turned to leave.

He was serious, because he didn't want to talk a lot of nonsense with these people and go back and forth to test them.

Since the other party knew that he was an envoy from the Kingdom of Cormyr, they insisted on meeting him.

Obviously, the fat lord has a lot of cooperation intentions.

After all, the human kingdom Cormyr is naturally a better choice than joining the dark forces dominated by ghosts.

The fundamental reason why Brian is so confident is that he has learned about the history of the shadow wedding.

Although the whole army of Lord Graal of Mokou Town was annihilated in this conspiratorial wedding, his youngest daughter who was trapped in the secret place of books survived.

It was through this branch in the game that he learned that Lord Graal's secret object of allegiance was actually the Grand Duchess Myrcella Raul of Araby City.

When the long-sighted grand duchess fell in Mokou Town, she immediately buried a pawn of her own.

She secretly supported the businessman Graal and allowed him to grow slowly until the day when the army of the Kingdom of Cormyr counterattacked Mokou Town.

Regrettably, this pawn was wiped out in a wedding by the people of the City of Shadows before it could play a role.

It is precisely because he knows these things that he dares to meet the other party without fear.

I just don’t know how the Grand Duchess of Araby City will feel when he sees the peaches she planted being picked by him, Brian thought.

Of course, he also didn't dare to reveal their identities immediately and let them serve him.

He must first observe whether these people have two hearts.

"Wait!" As he expected, Lord Graal stopped him.

I saw him squinting his eyes and looking at his cousin, and then said, "Actually, we don't want to have anything to do with any forces. When you came to Mokou Town, you should have seen it all. Residents and adventurers live and work in peace."

"Your Excellency claims to represent the kingdom of Cormyr to save the people from fire and water, to protect the land from the invasion of ghosts and evil humanoid creatures." The fat lord took a breath and continued:

"However, our Mokou Town has not been harassed by humanoids for many years, and it is even less likely to be attacked by ghosts. Your Excellency will not come to resist the abyss demons and hell demons for us, right?"

"That's right." Knight Zander said coldly, "Lord Bryan, let me call you 'My Lord', I know what your king of Cormyr wants from us: swords, gold and silver, and knees.

But the people from Shadow City also said that they claimed that as long as we show absolute loyalty, they will not only help us drive out the Sanlinta Society, but also give us family names from the Shadow Empire, and they also proposed to let Lando marry us. Daughter of a Shadow Prince for wife.

These terms seem to me to be quite generous, and a good basis for a fair and lasting peace, and now you want us to overthrow them all.I would like to ask you, Lord Brian, what benefits can the Kingdom of Cormyr give us? "

"What I bring to you is the chance to live." Brian said in a slightly cold tone, "and revenge. Avenge for your relatives and brothers, for the murdered lord of Mokou Town, for those who died ten years ago Countless Cormyrs have vengeance."

"That's right!" Lando continued, regardless of his father's wink, insisting on expressing his thoughts:

"I have long disliked the Sanlin Tower Society and the people in the City of Shadows. If Cormyr's army is willing to take back Mokou Town, we should give our full support. Back then we were homeless, looking around blankly, unaccompanied, and ordered Every day and night, it was the baron of the Rockland in Mokou Town who gave us help and sheltered us, so that our family can continue. In order to repay their kindness, we have promised long ago that we will always be members of the Kingdom of Cormyr, isn't it?"

Lord Graal's fat face suddenly became ugly, and even his cousin Zander showed a little shame.

Brian was also taken aback by the words of the irritable little brother, because these words were exactly what he was going to say next.

However, the effect from Lando's mouth is obviously better than his.

Seeing that the time was ripe, he pretended to look at Lord Graal with disdain, "Shadow City is one of the most powerful arcane forces in the entire continent, you really think that you can climb this high branch with your own status, if not They are afraid of the influence of the Sanlin Tower Society, so it is inconvenient to attack Mokou Town directly, do you think they will look at you businessmen?"

"So, whether it's joining the Sanlin Tower Society or the City of Shadows." Seeing the changes in the expressions of the two of them, he said coldly, "You will end up with your own destruction in the end. If you don't believe me, just ask this Harper scouts from Shadowvale."

Brian looked at the half-elf poet Elend next to him.

In fact, he didn't know that the other party was a Harper scout, and naturally he couldn't come from the Valley of Shadows. These words were all made up by him at will to test the poet.

Hearing the Harper scout, Elend looked at Brian in astonishment.

He thought for a moment, under the eyes of everyone, he put his hands in his pockets unhurriedly, and took out a brooch. up, down, left, and right.

"That's right, I'm from the Harper League."

Elend cleared his throat, and declared solemnly: "Our philosophy is to fight against crime and evil, and protect good civilizations from fear and tyranny. Although this ideal sounds simple, it is a bit out of reach, but we The Harpers have been moving toward this goal from beginning to end."

The Harper League is a representative organization of good forces, and their core concept is: overthrowing tyranny and equality for all.

The main duty is to fight against the dark conspiracies of the evil ones, maintain world peace, stifle sources of danger, eliminate threats to good things, and manipulate the affairs of civilized races in order to protect their balanced minds.

At the same time, there are often secret aids to adventurers and other groups who promote good ideas. These aids usually include: a kind innkeeper in an evil town, a traveling priest who suddenly appears when an adventuring party is hurt, Or a surprise attack against a common opponent.

So many people also call them 'nosy people', and this evaluation is correct to a large extent.

Because many of their ways to succeed include: cheating, misleading, and concealed actions without open conflicts. They are so-called doing bad things with good intentions. They are typical representatives of chaotic kindness, very similar to those knights who like to steal from the rich and give to the poor. .

They fight against evil in ways that seem insignificant to outsiders, and even deviant. Although some people in the good camp find it hard to understand, they enjoy it because they never ask for anything in return.

The main members of the Harper are elves, rangers or bards, as well as those so-called solitary travelers, lonely travelers with special abilities, and wild people with outstanding abilities.

Although the duties of the harpers are full of dangers, there is one thing that Brian admires more. They are all brave people who confront terrible dangers with courage and strength. safety, honor and disgrace.

Moreover, the tightness of this organization is the vanguard of the existing order of the entire continent, with a large number of safe houses and agents, who usually travel across the world alone or in small groups to carry out secret operations.

They live in all corners of the world in a hidden way. They may be an elf warrior wearing full body armor, or a poor human ranger wearing leather armor, or a wanderer shrouded in shadows, a barmaid in a bar, a beggar on the street beggars and so on.

They maintain their lofty and lofty ideals in their own unique way of life, even though it seems out of reach.

But at this moment, Brian felt that it sounded a little weird for the half-elf poet to say something about the idea of ​​the Harper Alliance.

With that blunt tone, it seemed that the other party was not a harper scout at all.

However, the brooch he took out that symbolized the identity of the Harpist was genuine.

This made him wonder what kind of person this guy was.

"The Harper Alliance, you should be familiar with it." He temporarily suppressed the doubts in his heart, and immediately continued the conversation.

"In fact, the fundamental reason why this friend from the Harper Alliance met with you with me is that he has insight into the conspiracy of the city of ghosts. These ghosts are going to wipe out all of you at the wedding and take your place. And the purpose of his coming here is to prevent the disaster from happening."

As Brian finished speaking, there was a sound of gasping in the room.

Obviously, the credibility of the words spoken in the name of the Harper Alliance is still very high.

After all, the north of the Kingdom of Cormyr is adjacent to the Valley, and the leader of the Harper, the famous goddess of magic, Chosen Storm Silverhand, lives in the Valley of Shadows in the Valley.

"Shut up, you just need to know that everything I said is true, and then cooperate with me and nod from time to time."

Seeing Elend looking at him with strange eyes, hesitant to speak, Brian feared that he would disrupt his plan, and immediately explained the situation to him through telepathic transmission.

"That's right, we have insight into the conspiracy of the City of Shadows, and we have come to assist you through this disaster under the instructions of Ms. Storm Silverhand." The half-elf poet shrugged helplessly and nodded in agreement with Brian's words.

Bryan gave the poet a skeptical look, heightened by the disrespect he sensed when he uttered the Harper leader's name.

However, he didn't continue to think about it, but turned his attention to the hesitant Lord Graal and the others, knowing that the time was ripe.

"listen!"

He gave a cold shout, making their eyes focus on himself, then took off his gloves calmly, and showed the ring on his finger:

"Now, in the name of the Obeszier family, the king of the Cormyrs and the First Men, the guardian of the Purple Dragon Kingdom, I, Brian, the pioneer of the wilderness, and the new lord of Mokou Town, hereby order you to hold high immediately Zilong's flag, help me take Mokou Town!"

As soon as the words fell, a magical light flashed, and a purple flag transformed by magic fluttered in the wind.

"It turned out to be the Purple Dragon Seal Ring!"

Lando recognized the ring worn by Bryan at a glance, and blurted out in shock, "It's still the highest-grade seal ring. I've only seen this kind of ring in the hands of Prince Celant."

Graal looked at the purple dragon seal ring in disbelief, and appeared in Mokou Town with the highest grade seal ring. This was undoubtedly swearing to him the Cormyr Kingdom's determination to take down Mokou Town.

Whether to choose the City of Shadows or the Kingdom of Cormyr, the answer is obvious.

He and Zander looked at each other, finally nodded, dragged his fat body, left the seat, knelt down at his feet, and said:
"I, Graal, would like to lead all my men under the banner of Zilong to help the new lord capture Mokou Town!"

Zhan En and Lando also knelt on the ground and echoed in unison.

Seeing this situation, the poet standing aside was stunned, as if he couldn't understand how the other party obtained such a valuable item from the royal family of Cormyr.

"It seems that Grand Duke Raul of Araby City did not misunderstand the person." Brian put away his seal ring, put on his gloves again, nodded, and said coldly, "Otherwise, I don't mind slaughtering you ungrateful people with my own hands." man of."

Hearing this, Grayl broke out in a cold sweat, secretly glad that he made the most correct choice.

He really didn't expect that Duke Raul, who had always only contacted him unilaterally through the Mage Tower, would directly guide the new lord to contact him and test his loyalty without even notifying him.

Now, with the help of the purple dragon knight and battle mage from the Kingdom of Cormyr, he also has the confidence to contend with the Shadow City and Sanlin Tower.

In this case, not only would he not have to take risks to form an alliance with the City of Shadows, but he could also help the new lord regain Mokou Town.

"Lord, don't worry, we will fully support you in capturing Mokou Town." Graal immediately assured him loudly.

"Very well, just don't worry."

Bryan nodded slightly, and said to him, "I am sure to win Mokou Town. When I take this town, I will not only ask for instructions from above, give you a family name and noble title, but also make you a member of Mokou Town." President of the Chamber of Commerce."

"Thank you Lord Lord for your love." Graal was delighted when he heard the assurance given to him by the new Lord, and quickly thanked him.

His humble status has always been his pain point.

If he could assist the new lord to take down Mokou Town, he would not only be able to fulfill his desire to become a nobleman, but also be able to suppress the business groups of the Sanlin Tower Association and become the most powerful consortium in this prosperous town of Mokou Town.

And with the big backer behind the Kingdom of Cormyr, he doesn't have to live in fear all day long.

"Get up." Brian signaled everyone to get up, pondered for a while, and said:

"I was lucky enough to go to an ancient library in the Sword Coast, the Kitchen Castle, and I heard about the secrets of the book "The Price of Beauty". If I have time, I will find a way to trap you in the secret place of the book The daughter was rescued."

"How do you know about this?" Graal was completely shocked when he heard this.

Two days ago, his daughter had an accident because she was flipping through a magic book called "The Price of Beauty". Before he could hire a wizard to help find out the reason, the new lord had already known it in advance.

"We'll talk about this later." Brian changed the subject, "Now our main task is how to smash the conspiracy of the City of Shadows at the wedding in three days' time."

"My lord, I think we can directly tear up the treaty and cancel the wedding." Graal calmed down and made a suggestion to Brian:
"Then I led my men, summoned the town's mercenaries, and joined forces with the Kingdom's purple dragon knights and battle mages to wipe out the forces of the Sanlin Tower Society and the City of Shadows, and quickly take down Mokou Town."

"No!"

Brian categorically dismissed his suggestion.

He can't deny it, because he is a bare-handed commander, and without the consent of the upper echelons, it is impossible to mobilize the purple dragon knights and battle mages that the Kingdom of Cormyr is proud of.

That's why he thought of using his Zilong seal ring to go to Mokou Town to prostitute a group of subordinates for free.

He thought for a moment, and told them his plan:
"It would be too much of a loss to do so. Large-scale mobilization of Purple Dragon Knights and Battle Mages will definitely attract the attention of the enemy. Since we have known the plan of the City of Shadows in advance, we will use our tricks and wipe them all out at the wedding."

…………

Just when Brian and others were discussing the plan, in a secret basement where the Sanlin Tower Society in Mokou Town was resident.

Angus, the Heron Knight in black heavy armor, took off his helmet and entered a secret room with many strange pictures carved on the walls.

The gloomy phosphorous fire swayed, reflecting the surroundings in an extremely gloomy manner.

A slender figure in a black robe knelt under the obsidian altar, praying on the ground with his hands crossed.

"The person you asked me to track down already has news." Angus looked at the shadow under the obsidian altar and said in a low voice.

The black shadow suddenly opened his eyes, revealing pale red eyes, and asked eagerly, "Where is he?"

"My spies met him at the Salamander."

The leader of the Sanlinta Society replied, "Seeing that he returned to the manor with Graal's son Lando, they are likely to be preparing to attend Miss Natasha's wedding."

"Bring your men to this wedding and kill him! Take back the items that belong to our Lord!" Sombra's graceful voice was distorted by anger.

"I'm sorry to tell you, Miss Shireen." Angus said with a serious expression, "The order we Sanlin Tower will receive is to stand still and wait and see what happens."

"Then you are not afraid that the forces of Shadow City will unite with Lord Graal to overthrow your rule in Mokou Town." The black shadow called Xierlin sneered and said to him.

"In fact, we were very scared."

Angus replied blankly, "But I am very aware of Hajhorner's behavior. The remnants of Netheril have already engraved their arrogance into their bones. I guess this wedding must be very exciting, no matter whether it is in the end. Whoever wins, I can wait for work and destroy them."

"no!"

Xierlin snorted coldly, "In order to prevent accidents, you must take action and kill the person instructed by my lord. This is the condition you promised me, otherwise"

"Miss Shirene, don't go too far." Angus turned cold and interrupted her words forcibly.

"A month ago, you told me that this person would definitely appear near the Mokou Mountains. I put down all the tasks in my hands and mobilized almost all the scouts and spies to help you find him. As a result, I was in the underground business of Aldus King City. The team accidentally discovered that the other party has been underground for more than a month, and I have tolerated you once, don't go too far!"

"He must die, and I must take back what belongs to my Lord."

Xierlin was silent for a moment, looked at the obsidian altar, and said slowly, "This is my bottom line, and it is also the basis for my lord to cooperate with the god of tyranny."

"I have my own arrangements." The leader of the Sanlinta Society softened his expression slightly, and continued, "I have distributed spies in every corner of the town. When the wedding is over, as long as he dares to leave the manor, he will definitely die."

"I hope you can do what you say, and don't let me down." Shirlin closed her eyes gently, and silently recited a prayer full of depravity.

(End of this chapter)