The Swordsman of Faerûn

At this time, a slightly tired voice sounded: "That bell is a good fellow, she once belonged to a noble chief—the pony."

William raised his head and saw Will walking out from behind the shelf with a tired face.Will has a handsome face and pointed ears. He is a half-elf, but he doesn't have the charm that a half-elf should have, because he has a pair of cross-eyed eyes with a sense of joy, matching the appearance of a half-elf, and The Elf is like the Erha in the wolf pack, and it is like the Corgi in front of the pastoral dog compared to the human. (Students please be seated)

Chapter 55 My Mom Is the Boss of Silvermoon City

Will glanced at William with cross-eyed eyes, and then said in a rather impatient tone: "Boy, it's still noon, why don't you hide in the tent and sleep with your mother-in-law, why are you coming to my place! Hey, no! My door is closed, how did you get in?"

William smiled slightly and said, "I didn't intend to come in at all, but just passed by your door, and the door opened when the strong wind blew, so I walked in out of curiosity."

The cross-eyed half-elf had an expression of "Don't lie to me", and muttered, "It's such a fine weather, where is the wind coming from! It's not the time for sandstorms." Indeed, there will be no strong winds in the desert. High winds are a disaster.

After muttering for a while, the half-elf rubbed the gums in the corners of his eyes, and said angrily, "Since you're here, let's buy something before leaving. I can't crawl out of my sleeping bag for nothing."

William said: "That's a good feeling! I was just looking to buy something useful. I don't know if you have any high-quality goods in this small shop?"

Just as Will was about to speak, William pointed to the rags all over the floor and added: "Don't fool me with these rubbish things."

Will's complexion changed, and he said solemnly: "What an arrogant boy! I don't know what you want?"

William smiled lightly: "Do you have fine salt here? I want to buy some."

Will said with a bit of self-deprecation: "Refined salt is a real hard currency on the black road. If I had refined salt in my hand, why would I open a chicken feather shop in such a place where no shit? I would have changed places to have a good time. It is." Indeed, in Enook, the fine snowflake salt is more expensive than gold, and it is a real luxury.

Of course, it does not mean that Enook is really short of salt mines. What is lacking is salt that humans can eat. The technology of extracting edible refined salt in the mine is just that they deliberately block the technology in order to squeeze the local wealth.

William was a little disappointed, and he asked again: "Then what kind of salt do you have here to sell?"

The half-elf said: "Now there is only mineral salt for livestock. The table salt that people can eat has been sold out a few days ago. If you want to buy it, you have to wait a few more days."

William nodded and said, "Then bring me some mineral salt. Also, I want to buy some fine steel feather arrows. It would be even better if there are bursting arrows."

William didn't pay attention to this kind of consumable equipment before. Even Misha'er and Miluna's crossbow was captured by William from a certain ambusher of the Zhentarim Society. At that time, he didn't pay attention to it. However, the outstanding performance of the Explosive Crossbow in the previous battle with the Ethiopian Sand Lizard finally aroused William's interest.The power of these gadgets is no worse than that of large-caliber pistols. William regretted not discovering their functions earlier, otherwise he would have to buy a batch in advance before entering the Great Sand Sea.

Will said angrily with an ugly face: "You bastard! Are you here to embarrass me on purpose?! In a small and remote shop like mine, do you think there will be expensive things like bursting arrows? Don't tell me. It's bursting arrows or fine steel feather arrows, I don't even have iron skin arrows here."

William pretended to be innocent and smirked: "Is that so? I really didn't mean that. But I have something that you may recognize." William said and took out a wooden harp-shaped horn. The imitation used to bluff the guards.

Will involuntarily widened his cross-eyed eyes, and William finally realized that they were not cross-eyed, but a kind of pupils like falcons, with sharp and scary eyes.

Will snatched the wood carving of the harp horn, and William was a little surprised by this. The owner of this humble grocery store seems to have something, and his skills are not simple.Will flipped through the wood carving a few times, then threw it back to William with a cold expression, and said, "It turned out to be a fake. I was shocked! But how do you know what this thing looks like?"

William didn't expect to be spotted directly. He said a little embarrassedly: "I've seen it at Ms. Hope (Elastra Silverhand) before, and her partner, Captain Morgan, also has one. Made one myself."

Will looked at the young human in front of him in surprise, and said, "You have seen Yilu Dalan? Is she okay?"

William couldn't help raising his eyebrows, and asked, "Who is Yilu Dalan?"

Will didn't answer directly, but found a wooden stick to fasten the store door again, and then led William through the messy shelves and into a clean and tidy room.William found that there were many good things in this room, such as daggers shining with magical aura, exquisite armor, exquisite short bows, various potions and scrolls, and ivory-like bone arrows.

There are two exquisite wicker chairs in the center of the room, and their style is quite elf-like.Will sat in one of the chairs, and motioned for William to sit down too.

Will's eyes were like eagle eyes, sharp and frightening. He looked at William for a while, and then said: "Yilu Dalan is the elf name of the leader of Silvermoon City, Ms. Elastra Silverhand. She is my Mother!"

I'm so crazy!This delicious melon is a bit unprepared, and William finds it hard to believe that this vicissitude-looking guy in front of him could be the son of Ms. Elastret. After all, from his looks alone, he is more than enough to be Ms. Hope's uncle. .

William pretended to be unbelievable and loudly said: "Impossible! Ms. Elastra looks as young and beautiful as a 20-year-old girl. How could she have a son as old as you?"

Will said proudly with resentment: "Haha! Another idiot who was confused by her beauty! Idiot! Do you know that my mother's real age is close to six hundred years old? Because of the favor of the goddess of magic, She was able to stay young forever!"

"Oh? There is such a good thing in the world? That's really enviable!" William is indeed full of envy for the effect of Erastriol being blessed by the goddess of magic. Think about how he was cheated by the goddess of luck. She is a goddess, why is there such a big gap between being a god?

I don't know if he has found a good person to talk to. Will became incoherent excitedly. He shouted angrily: "Do you know how old I am, William? I'm only 71 years old, 71 years old! In the elf tribe, I'm just A child who doesn’t know anything, was sent by my mother to this damn big sea of ​​sand and ate sand for 20 years! Can you imagine? How I survived these 20 years! She told me personally, There is a difficult task waiting for me, I took it so stupidly at the beginning, and I was happy for several months, and I was finally valued by my mother."

Speaking of this, Will actually burst into tears, and he said sadly: "I waited for the day when the mission came with great hope, and then I waited for 20 years until my heart died! Do you know that there was once Countless harpists passed by here. I watched them arrive with great anticipation, and then watched them leave or die with disappointment, but I have never dared to reveal my identity. Even if I know that my best friend is a Zhentarim secret agent, I can only pretend to ignore it."

Chapter 56 Please let me join!

I really don't know how much bitterness and resentment Mr. Will has stored in his heart, but today he poured it all out. A big man was crying with tears and incoherent words, which made William, who was an accidental audience, at a loss and didn't know what to say. That's good.

After an unknown amount of time, William finally found a bowl of chicken soup from his memory, and then bluntly poured it into the poor half-elf: "Maybe the reason why your mother sent you here to lurk is to hone your patience. No matter what she does, she loves you after all, after all, you are the son of Ms. Elastre. In this world, only the love from your parents is the most selfless."

Don't tell me this bowl of chicken soup really works, Will stopped crying immediately, sobbing tearfully: "Really? Does mom really still love me? God, you know I've been resenting her for years , always felt that she loved those arrogant big babies more than us lost children!"

William could only smile silently, and he smiled very reluctantly, ho!City Lord Silver Moon's housework, what can he do.He didn't want to know what the Lost Son was, and he didn't care who the big baby was, but Will, who opened up the chatterbox, told William.

The so-called lost children are some of the children born to Ms. Elastre who don't know who their father is, or don't want others to know, and deliberately conceal some of them. Although these children may not be taken seriously, it is undeniable that The most important thing is that they cannot enjoy any privileged halo from Ms. Hope, and they must have sufficient ability and talent to get ahead.

The other part of children with clear parental inheritance is different. Compared with his (her) lost son brothers and sisters, these children have a higher starting point, the most famous of which is the so-called "tall man". Twelve brothers.

The twelve male half-elf children are all surnamed Alaseme (meaning silver moon in the evening in the Elvish language). Gained the support of elves in the expansion, but he was later killed by orcs.Because of the glory from their father, these boys have a high reputation in Silvermoon City. They were all trained by Ms. Elastre as excellent fighters, and they occupy an important position in the army of Silvermoon City. One of the cornerstones of Lady Straw's rule over Silvermoon City.

Ok!William, who had listened to the private affairs of the Lord of Silvermoon City, had never been able to figure out one thing, how many children Ms. Alustri had had, but he would not ask stupidly, but it felt a bit subversive to his three Visual cognition.

William didn't understand one thing. Not long ago, he won a 3000-year lifespan from the Naga of Bone. If he was not killed halfway in the future, his road to seeding would be even more exaggerated.

Although the half-elf Will lost his composure for a while and became a chatterbox in a short period of time, he was a character who had been lurking for many years. After venting his stagnant emotions, he quickly regained his senses and became the shrewd and cautious man again. Lost Son.

Will tidied up his messy appearance, and said quite calmly: "I haven't heard from my mother for many years. Today, brother William brought the news. I just couldn't help myself. I don't know William, you? Oh, I'm in the tavern When I heard your family call you that, it’s okay if I call you William too?"

William said with a stiff smile, "The name [William] was originally called by people, you can call it whatever you want."

Will, the half-elf, nodded friendly, and then said with a serious face: "William, I don't know what kind of task mother asked you to complete, can you tell me? Of course, if it is too confidential, you don't have to say it. "

William looked at the half-elf's sharp eyes, and said to himself, if I don't tell you, I'm afraid you may turn black and mutate anytime soon, and let those bad-hearted women find out and hate me to death .

William is also a clever little ghost who is well versed in words. He pretended to be embarrassed and said: "Of course, the important task I shoulder is a big secret. I agreed at the beginning not to tell others, not even my family members." Know the content of the mission." Unexpectedly, when William said this, the face of the half-elf began to change, and an inexplicable emptiness and despair filled his eyes, and his delicate face showed a hint of ferocity and distortion.

William glanced at the half-elf, but he was taken aback. Your mental quality is too fragile, brother!He hurriedly continued: "But now I can't keep it secret from you."

Will's complexion changed when he heard the words, and he asked anxiously in a daze, "Why?"

William said with a look of dismay: "My family and I set off from Silvermoon City, and experienced countless disasters and dangers along the way, and attackers emerged in endlessly. My family and I received help from many righteous people in the crisis. , even though they don't know the heavy responsibility we shoulder, they still go to die without hesitation."

Speaking of this, William deliberately didn't look at Will's strange face of shame mixed with pride, he was worried that he would not be able to help but laugh out loud.

William said impassionedly: "They died in ignorance, not knowing how great the goal they dedicated themselves to was. They died so humble that no one even remembered their names."

At this time, Will showed a frenzy of sympathy, and said excitedly: "That's right! I am Willalmo Kolaski, and I am the great supreme lady Endu Elas The son of Zhuo Silverhand! I should have a famous future, a heroic ending that is sung by others, instead of dying like a bedbug in an unknown corner of the gutter!"

William was stunned, well, so this is your ambition!Boy, I like you!

William said affectionately: "It's an admirable ambition! Do you know, Mr. Will, we have experienced many magical adventures along the way that others can't imagine. We have challenged dragons and faced gods. Beheaded the orc king in the battle of the orc legion, explored the terrifying labyrinth, escaped from the most dangerous unknowable monsters, not to mention other big and small adventures. Do you know? , the Zhentarim organized two ambushes against me and my family, but they were defeated!"

Will, the half-elf, was drooling. He wished he could personally participate in these fascinating adventures. This is the life he wanted most, instead of guarding a small shop that was on the verge of bankruptcy like a rotten wooden man. eat sand.

Will held William's hand and said eagerly: "William! Mr. William! Please let me join your adventure team, my God! This is the life I dream of! Please let me join you!"

Chapter 57 Because He's a Zhentarim

William said with a look of embarrassment: "Mr. Will, you have to know how difficult our mission is, and the dangers along the way are simply beyond your imagination. People without certain strength are not qualified to join our adventure team!"

The half-elf was taken aback when he heard the words, and said with an unnatural expression: "Well, I saw that there are two little girls following you, are they also very powerful?"

William laughed and said, "You mean Misha and the others, of course they...are not powerful! Not only are they lacking in strength, but they are also the kind of burden that hinders you." William stared blankly at the half-elf as he spoke. The expression on his face could not help but give birth to an inexplicable sense of joy in his heart.

But he immediately said: "I won't hide it from you, Mr. Will, the two of them are the goals of this mission for me and my adventure partner. The specific content is to protect them from reaching the Valley of Shadows safely, and then gather some strong people there to continue the mission." Go to the southern city."

Will stared blankly at William, and murmured in astonishment, "Mr. William, is it really appropriate for you to tell me about your secret mission like this?"

Hey!Believe it or not, boy, if your old lady is not Mrs. Elastra, I will just turn around and kill you!

But of course William couldn't say that directly on the surface.He said: "Now our enemies already know almost everything they need to know, why should I keep it from your own people?" William's accent on the word "our own people" was so strong that it was almost blatantly obvious. Explanation: Hurry up and brag about your abilities, kid, and I will justifiably pull you into my gang!

If you want to talk about why William insisted on pulling the half-elves into the group, because they will soon enter the Standing Stone Plain.The Standing Stone Plain can be said to be one of the most dangerous areas in the Ennook Desert. It is not just a barren plain.The Standing Stone Plains used to be the most important floating city outfitting center of the Great Netheril Empire in history. After all, not every great arcanist has enough time and money to build an invincible floating fortress alone.Therefore, the assembly line products have become the only choice for many relatively mediocre Grand Arcanists (compared to the top elites such as Iolum and Karsus, if they get William, they are still top excellent spellcasters in this era). .

At the moment when the floating city completely crashed, there were at least a hundred floating cities in the outfitting center waiting to be launched or repaired, and then the catastrophe turned them all into a pile of empty shells, and finally they were buried by endless wind and sand.

There are all kinds of weird and dangerous creatures and strange structures inhabiting the Standing Stone Plain. They are very honest during the day, but they will become terrible executioners at night, and then frantically besiege any uninvited guests who break into the Standing Stone Plain. , nothing can stand against these guardians, not even mighty dragons or legendary adventurers.

Of course, this does not mean that the Standing Stone Plain is impassable. There are many hollow stone pillars or stone houses standing on the plain. Some of them are safe areas in the eyes of the guards. As long as people hide inside at night, there is no need to worry. Attacks from those monsters and constructs.

Except for a small number of experienced guides, almost no one knows whether those stone houses or stone pillars are safe. Even some stone houses are safe today, and may lose their protective effect in a day.

To be honest, William can’t trust the young guide——Mr. Pumostanshull. This kid’s temperament is unstable. Although he looks very harmless, no one can guarantee that he will not be a monster in the future. William will never give up hope. It is entrusted to such an unreliable person.

William wanted to find a reliable guide, but his intuition told him that Mr. Will, the grocer, was the best choice he could find in this small town. reason.

William stared at Will with a serious face, and said coldly: "Mr. Will, please start your performance... Ah no! Please introduce yourself 'honestly', I need to confirm whether you are eligible to join us! "

Ho ho!The interviewer job makes me happy!

Will swallowed nervously, and then said a little nervously: "I... I am Willalmo Kolaski, a half-elf. My mother is the great lady Endu Elas Zhuo Silverhand, she is the lord of Silvermoon City, a powerful..."

William interrupted feigning displeasure: "Will, tell me about yourself instead of introducing your mother. She has nothing to do with today's interview!"

"Yes yes yes—say about myself,... My name is Will, a grocery store owner on the verge of bankruptcy, who often goes out secretly, and occasionally likes to find the opposite dwarf to drink some mead, although he is a member of the Zhentarim Society, Sometimes it's annoying, but I don't object to interacting with him." It felt like Will was getting more nervous, and he didn't even know what he was talking about.

William said helplessly, "Tell me what you know, such as fighting, archery, tracking or magic."

This time Will finally got to the point, he said: "When I was young, I learned sword fighting with my half-brother for a period of time. After my brother left, I learned hunting from an old harpist. Until I became an adult, I learned the magic of music from another old harp player. Well, my archery skills are not bad, and I also have some detection and stealth skills. I used to be able to release two small spells occasionally, but not recently Now, for some reason, I can no longer unleash even a small trick."

The more the half-elf spoke, the more depressed he became. He seemed to have foreseen the scene where he would be rejected.Then Will asked unwillingly with red eyes: "Mr. William, am I... am I bad? I have always disappointed my mother, and I have always been like this." Oh!Poor child, you really look like Mrs. Xianglin who is about to go crazy!

William cleared his throat with a cough, and said, "Mr. Will, although your strength is a bit low, you are still relatively comprehensive and versatile, barely meeting the standards for joining the regiment."

"I know I... wait! What are you talking about? I have met the criteria for joining the group? Mr. William, you won't lie to me! Hahaha! Me, me, me... what should I say, Mr. William?" Er was completely dazzled by the sudden joy, he was dancing and laughing, jumping for joy like a child.

After being crazy for a while, the half-elf Will woke up from his joy. He cheerfully asked William, "What should I do now, Mr. William?"

William smiled and said: "You should prepare the equipment and supplies for the trip. We have to set off tomorrow at the latest to the Standing Stone Plain in the east."

Will didn't care how dangerous the Standing Stone Plain was at all, and he continued to ask a little stupidly: "What should I prepare, Mr. William?"

William scratched his head a little. He thought for a while and said, "Just prepare according to the standard adventure equipment for crossing the Standing Stone Plain. I'm going back first. If I have time, we will meet at the tavern in the evening and discuss the precautions for traveling."

Will nodded excitedly and said, "That's a good relationship! Mr. William, I'll invite the adventure team to drink the best mead here. I will also share my joy with my good friend Bader, I think he will definitely Bless mine."

William, who was walking out, suddenly turned around and said, "It's best not to do this, Will! I don't want to kill your best friend in front of you!"

Will asked in horror, "Why?"

William coolly replied: "Because he's a Zhentarim!" He left without looking back.

Chapter 58 The Respondent

Does William care about the identity and position of the half-elf's friend? He doesn't care. As long as the other party is not a heinous person, does not hinder his and his family's travel, and does not intentionally cause trouble for him, William will not bother with that bastard. Which path are you going to mess with!

William returned to the tent area, and the whole family of women, young and old, were still sleeping soundly.

Since entering the Great Sand Sea, the whole family has been exhausted and has never been able to truly relax. The physical reserves of the two little guys have almost dropped to the warning line, and it is difficult for Feniya and Yasuna to avoid the fatigue of the journey. When I came back to a more normal crowded place, my mind suddenly relaxed, and all the exhaustion I had accumulated before burst out all of a sudden.

It seems that without three or five days to rest, it is a bit difficult for the family to continue on their way, which William did not expect.

Take a rest and rest, William doesn't care where the time goes.He set up a pot and stove in the tent area, ready to make some delicious food to appease everyone's stomachs.

The famous modern food "hand-sheared ribs" is to divide the large ribs of the sand camel into four or five pieces of ridges, cut them into sections that are as long as the forearm, wash them in clean water, and then put them in a pot to blanch , When blanching, add spices with strong flavors, which can effectively remove the fishy smell, but will not let the flavor of the spices overwhelm the fresh fragrance of the steak.

The spices in the desert are quite special, mainly a small berry called stinky fruit, which smells like a combination of concentrated stinky cheese and black rubber. This stuff has a strong deodorizing function, but it often pollutes meat If you add a little more, you can turn a pot of good meat into a stinky smell of manure.

After blanching the water, wash the blood stasis on the surface of the steak with clean water, put it into the pot, add water, add a large glass of honey wine stock solution, add the light spices brought by William from the desert, cook on high heat, without fresh pine wood Well, William broke off a small handful of twigs from the sand jujube tree, removed the bark, broke them into small pieces and threw them into the pot...

In Faerun, high-quality salt is a scarce commodity no matter where it is, including the most prosperous city of Waterdeep.There was only the last bit of refined salt left on William's body, which was not even enough to make a meal. After thinking about it, he poured all the salt into the stew pot.

As the water boiled, the rich smell of meat began to waft in the tent area, and then spread to the entire square, and then to the entire town.The reason why the sand camel can crowd out a large group of breeds suitable for desert beasts and herding animals such as camels, Gobilos, and sand sheep, and become the overlord livestock in the Great Desert of Enook is because of this, its meat It can be fragrant for ten miles when it is done.Of course, it is definitely not that exaggerated, but it is not a problem to spread the word in this small village with only a dozen families.

Not long after, everyone in the town who could move walked out of the house drooling, and they all followed the scent and approached the tent area, my God!How long has it been since we have smelled such an authentic sand camel stew!

Of course, the one with the most convenient itinerary was Phinea, a foodie. She was the first to rush out of the tent, and came to William in disheveled clothes. She looked at the saucepan pitifully like a puppy begging for food, and couldn't stop drooling.

William kicked the silly woman lightly, and shouted: "Go back and put on your clothes first, what does it look like to be so open-chested-exposing-breast!"

Feniya surrounded the saucepan, smirking but refused to leave. William could only use his trump card. He fished out a large piece of steak from the saucepan, held it up and said to Feniya: "Did you see this? If you If you can go back quickly and get dressed, I'll let you try it first, otherwise, Yasuna, Misha'er, and Miluna are coming soon, and I'll let them try it first."

Like a greedy little bitch, Phineya smelled the meat steak so fragrant that people's tongues drool, and said seriously: "William, you must keep your word!"

William said angrily: "When will I say nothing! Hurry up! You see Yasuna is looking out, hurry up and change clothes!"

Phineya took a deep breath of the aroma on the meat steak, and then ran into the tent, her heavy footsteps making the ground rattle.

At this time, Yasuna also came out from another tent. She was dressed very neatly, and she couldn't see the madness of last night at all. It was a tragic battle that William had endless aftertaste.

Yasuna stepped forward and hugged William with an intimate smile, but one of her hands casually copied the steak in the man's hand, and at the same time she said: "What a caring man! He also prepared snacks for me in advance. "

William is no longer the hormonal beast who gets angry easily when he sees a beautiful woman. What's more, he has not quit the sage state at the moment after being squeezed too much last night, and just avoided Yasuna's "sneak attack" with a slight change of hand.

William smiled and said, "I have already promised Phinea that she will try it first. The meat in the pot is not fully cooked yet, you'd better wait a while."

Yasuna touched William's body "hatefully", distorting the man's face, then let go of her palm contentedly, and said angrily, "You know how to favor that stinky girl! Really! I don't know what's so good about her that you let her protect her like this!"

William gasped for air as he covered his vitals with one hand. He was so angry that he said angrily, "You damn bitch! Don't you know that your hands are heavy! How can this place be pinched casually!"