Mercenaries and Adventurers

After lunch, everyone split up.

Kiel brought the clerk Imor with him, and two local soldiers. The soldier was asked by Mr. Pawei to follow. Keir didn't say anything, but thanked the other party for his kindness.

He also understood that the local knight lord asked the other party to come over, just to watch Kiel and the others, and prevent these outsiders from causing troubles that were not under the control of the local forces.

Maybe it's okay if something happens, but they must be involved.

So Keir did not refuse the other party's arrangement, took the other three people to rest in the restaurant, and then walked towards the algae head Parian who was imprisoned in the town.

I asked the soldiers who followed me about the location of the prison and found out that there were two of them. One is a larger prison, built in the southeast of the town in the military building at the gate.

The offenders who have committed crimes in the town are all locked here. Fighting, extortion, fraud and gangsters are basically locked here. For more serious crimes, they were either directly punished by corporal punishment, or they were taken by soldiers and escorted to other places to do hard labor that rarely returned alive. Some of the most serious criminals naturally do not need to be imprisoned, and they are directly beheaded by the executioner in a public place.

In addition to this, there is a smaller prison, built underground in the knight's mansion, which is mainly used to detain the soldiers who make mistakes.

So the few people quickly braved the scorching spring sun and came to the big prison at the southeast entrance of the town.

Different from the building materials in other places, this prison built in the Chengmen Garrison Station was built with rock bricks that are rare in the local area.

The outer wall of this building is composed of large rocks pulled from nowhere, which looks far stronger than the houses where the soldiers live next to them.

With the introduction of the two soldiers, Kiel and the clerk walked into the building together.

Originally, Kiel shouldn't be allowed to enter with a lethal weapon, but the soldier at the prison gate carefully looked at Kiel's long sword, and then took out a small chain with a lock.

"This is something specially designed to restrict the sidearms of foreign big shots. After all, you can't give us your sidearms for safekeeping, right? So put a lock on the hilt and scabbard of the long sword, and unlock it when you leave Just open it."

The soldiers who followed explained that Keir didn't expect such a considerate means.

That's right, like Kiel's long sword hunting sword made of expensive magic materials, it is impossible for him to temporarily store the weapon in other people's hands when he enters some important buildings.

Weapons are the lifeblood of a soldier, and they cannot be separated from the body, nor can they be handed over to others for safekeeping.

And because most of the people who can use this kind of weapon are big figures whose status and strength are higher than those of the prison managers, this method is chosen here to deal with the contradiction between the safety of the prison and the reality.

"I don't think it's anything, it's fine."

Kiel smiled, and pressed the hilt of the long sword, so that the soldiers guarding the gate would wrap the thin chain around the body of the long sword hunt, and finally fix it with a lock.

It is difficult to open this thing in a short time without a key.

Feeling a sense of grievance coming from the long sword, Kiel patted the hilt of the sword and muttered in a low voice: "Just a moment, it will be untied soon."

Then the long sword fell silent.

The soldiers who came with him knew that Kiel was going to question the algae head Parian who had just been sent over, so he went one step ahead and explained the matter to the prison guards on behalf of Kiel.

It's not about taking people away, but just asking questions. With the arrangement of his own soldiers, the guards don't care, and quickly brought Kiel to the door of a prison.

The prison made of rock is not only strong, but also well insulated from the internal and external temperature.

It was a warm spring afternoon outside the prison, but inside the thick stone walls, it was a low-temperature environment where you could breathe out water mist. Not only is the temperature in the prison very low, but the smell is also unpleasant.

As he passed the single and multi-person cells separated by wood, Keel could see that there was nothing else inside. The prisoners were not covered with a piece of animal skin and slept directly on a clump of hay.

The musty smell of hay, and the smell of excrement in a wooden bucket in the prison, mixed with the rancid smell of food that fell on the cell floor, rushed straight into Keir's nose.

If he hadn't developed a nose that was not afraid of the smell in the swamp outside Kendall, it would have made him embarrassing at this time.

The clerk Yi Moore who came with him couldn't take it anymore, he covered his mouth and wanted to spit out all the delicious food he had just eaten. He pulled the arm of a jailer, and the jailer understood what he meant just by looking at Imol's face without saying a word.

"Please don't vomit outside, we have to mop the floor. If you want to vomit, just vomit in any prison nearby. The prisoners are responsible for the hygiene of each prison."

As soon as the words were finished, Yi Moore hurried to a prison passing by, and vomited out all the good things he had just eaten through the wooden pillar thick as an arm.

"Go away! Go away! Don't vomit! Hey, don't vomit!" No matter how the prisoner yelled, Imore couldn't care less.

After spitting out the stuff, it was much better. The clerk looked apologetically at the prisoner inside, apologized under the other's curses, wiped his mouth with a hand towel, and quickly caught up with Kiel and the others who were waiting for him.

The jailer looked at Imore's vomit through the light that leaked in from the side window of the zenith, and a strange smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He led Kiel and others to move forward, towards the prison of the algae head Parian.

When everyone walked away, the prisoner who was cursing just now changed his expression, ignoring all the foul smells around him, and moved his nose vigorously: "Suck, suck. What did that guy eat? It smells so good."

Then, under the watchful eyes of the prisoners in the nearby prison, the prisoner leaned directly next to Imore's vomit just now, and lay down like a wild beast.

"Good guy, it's meat. That guy ate a lot of meat." The prisoner greedily looked at the chewed pieces of meat in the vomit.

The other prisoners in the nearby prison were stimulated by the word 'meat': "Lucky guy, I didn't expect that weak one like a duck to eat so well."

"Idiot, you don't understand, those guys with legs as thin as your arms are usually the guys with rich clothes and good food. The food is so good!"

"Don't smell it! I haven't eaten meat for a year, even if it's other people's vomit, I'm willing, brother, throw me a piece and try it!"

But the prisoner lying next to Imor's vomit devoured the pieces of the vomit like a beast.

"Don't even think about it, mine, mine, it's all mine. Woohoo, delicious, delicious. #@#@@'s, those jailers really treat us like weeds."

Under the envious eyes and curses of all the prisoners who were locked up, this guy ate up all the meat in a few strokes. After eating, he lay down on the ground, pulled out a piece of dry grass that was still solid, and poked it between his teeth, with a satisfied face.

-

The algae head Parian was held at the other end of the cell. The guy was dejected, lying on a pile of freshly moved hay and closing his eyes in thought.

As Kiel and the others approached, the listless prisoners all sat up and looked at Kiel and his group.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know, I've seen it in the past, and I'm looking for a newcomer."

"Seaweed Head, I know him, he's nothing special."

The algae head Parian was awakened by the voices of other prisoners, and when he looked up, he was startled. The young man from other places who tortured him before came again.

"What's going on? I've told you everything I know! Don't come here!"

Parian kept shrinking into the prison, but was immediately kicked out by his inmate in the same prison.

The jailer swiftly opened the door made of hard wood, and beckoned Parian to come out.

But Parian, the algae head, didn't mean to come out at all. Keir smiled: "It's okay, I'll go in. Just ask questions and come out soon."

After finishing speaking, Kiel took out a silver coin from his purse and quickly handed it to the jailer.

The flash of silver light surprised the jailer inexplicably, and he immediately changed from expressionless to flattering: "Yes, yes. You don't think it smells strong, so you can do whatever you want. We will just stand here and wait for you. "

Kiel nodded, bent down and got in through the half-human-high wooden cell door.

Immediately, the jailer closed the cell door and locked it.

The clerk looked uncomfortable after vomiting, but he still leaned against a bright place beside the cell, took out his book and pen, unscrewed the cork of the ink bottle at his waist, and prepared to record.

The jailer and the two soldiers estimated that the questioning would not be quick, so they moved a few wooden benches and sat in the middle of the passage outside the prison to wait.

As soon as Kiel, who was wearing an armor and a weapon, entered the prison, the original prisoners in the prison shrank directly to the innermost dark corner of the prison, and even put hay on their bodies to try to cover them.

None of the prisoners thought about escaping from the prison, and there was no way to do it. The prisoners who could stay here had a shorter sentence, and those with a longer sentence were in front of the prison building. Every time the jailer came in, he could see it at first sight. No matter how long it takes, they will not be locked up, but will be escorted to some quarries or mines in the western provinces to engage in dangerous and heavy physical labor.

"There's no need to be afraid of being like this. I tortured you just now, because you didn't tell the truth about the situation."

Keir squatted down and talked to Parian, who was smiling awkwardly.

"Then what do you want to ask now? I have explained everything that happened last night."

Keir shook his fingers wearing protective gloves: "No, no, no, I thought about it when I was eating just now, and I felt something was wrong."

Swallowing a mouthful of spit: "What's wrong? It's really everything."

After exhaling, Keir smiled: "So, how about you, you are not an ordinary person in the town, you are a guy with a bit of industry, right?"

"A bit rich? Forget it. It can only be said that I have been fooling around for a long time. My friends think I am pitiful, so they will give me a hand."

"That's right, don't be humble. You must be well-informed in your business, right? Before the accident happened last night, didn't you really feel that something was wrong? Has your business been affected recently?"

Keel noticed that Parian, who was sitting opposite him on the ground, squinted his eyes. Although he didn't speak, the silence and expression seemed to say something.

"It seems that I guessed correctly, there are clouds before the rain. You should have another opinion about what happened last night, right?"

"It can't be said to be an opinion. It's just that I have heard some news and guesses." After finishing speaking, Parian, the algae head, looked at Kiel carefully again: "But you are a foreigner, don't you seem to have been blown by the wind? The grass can only bend the grass, nothing can be changed. And I want to live here, I don't want to lose my life because of it!"

Keel licked his lips, feeling that the conversation was finally gaining some depth.

"The wind can blow the grass up into the sky."

"But the grass roots are still there. As long as it rains, they will reappear."

"They? Who?"

"What's the use of what I said, what can you do?"

Seeing the contempt on the face of Parian, a middle-aged man in his thirties and forties, Kiel smiled.

It seems to be underestimated.

The other people who came to investigate the case with Kiel would not tell Kiel what he can do. They have seen what Kiel is capable of during the march.

But it's useless for him to boast about himself at this time. If you say it to someone who has never seen it with his own eyes, the other party will only take it as bragging.

So Keel put it another way.

"Maybe I can't do anything about it, but your lord of Grass Rat Town, Knight Rusvis-Anvina, may not be happy with the existence of those guys who are running amok in his territory."

"You're lying! The lord never pays attention to such trivial matters!"

Facing Parian's rebuttal, Keir gave his set of reasons: "You may not know why my people and I came to investigate this matter, right?"

Parian said nothing.

"Because the master of our army, Lord Baron Kendall, said before that he would protect the caravan accompanying the army. But now a steward of the caravan has died in your town, and our army is not far from the town. Hundreds of extremely elite soldiers and two knights from the army are not something your lord is willing to provoke and deal with."

Keir pointed at him with his finger: "You know? Don't say the 'they' you don't want to tell, I'm going to kill you, a few other thugs, and the owner of the Burning Grassland Tavern. , I can walk out of this town swaggeringly."

"Because compared to the war caused by the conflict between the two lords, these are nothing. Do you understand? It is not a matter. Soldiers, prisons, jailers, and punishments are all tools of rule, and the tools are in the hands of the lord. When he needs it, the tool snaps like a riding whip. When he doesn't, it's like a wooden table knife that cuts no meat."

Keir stared at each other closely and said nothing more.

It's not necessary, if you talk too much, the other party really thinks that he is begging the other party to speak.

Outside the prison, the clerk Yi Moore looked puzzled, wondering whether to erase the words recorded in the book just now, after all what Kiel said was too explicit.

Sure enough, the three guys sitting next to him were already stunned. They had heard a general understanding just now, so they felt shocked and unbelievable.

My persistence and responsibilities, daily work, hard training, and so on, etc., so the nobles see it this way.

As for the other prisoners who didn't know any big characters, most of them didn't hear clearly or didn't understand, and they looked confused.

Imore shook his head, no matter what, anyway, the person who will read this record later is either the baron or the two knights, it doesn't matter. He only needs to do his duties well, maybe he can write these words down, and he can make a serious and reliable impression in front of several adults.

After a while, the algae head Parian's voice sounded again in the quiet prison: "Can you keep me?"

"You're just an indifferent character. You know? How I see it."

Keir's words attracted the attention of the algae head Parian again: "If nothing happens, or if we outsiders can't find out what happened, guys like you are the most dangerous group of people in the matter."

"We patted our butts and left. No matter who the other party is, they don't have the ability and energy to manage us. And they must focus on you who must know something, and the tavern owner. Maybe they will find you to blackmail you, even if you don’t know anything about it, but people will still do it. Because, it’s really safe, really safe.”

"Is there any truth to what I said?"

The algae head Parian said in a daze: "That's right, that's right. That's the way it is, it will definitely be like this."

"Hey." Kiel smiled: "But what if, like this? I know who those 'they' are, and then I can't deal with them. What should I do next? I'll go to the Knight of Anvina and tell him everything. Guess, will I get my wish and leave here in the end?"

The opposite party swallowed a mouthful of spit: "Of course, the lord is too powerful, no one will be his opponent. Oh, at least there is no one in the town, those people will be wiped out, even if there will be endless troubles."

Endless troubles?

Keel noticed such an adjective ~www.readwn.com~ Note: Similar idioms are replaced by similar phrases in the story. Don't worry about why people from other worlds can speak idioms, it's all to enhance the reading experience. )

He smacked secretly. It seemed that the real murderer was quite powerful. At least one knight lord in one place could deal with it, but he couldn't suppress it.

Is it an organization?

what organization.

"The same question, who are they? This is the last time I ask."

After Kiel finished speaking, he stood up from a squatting position, condescendingly examining the thin middle-aged man sitting on the ground.

Shui Zaotou looked around carefully, but unfortunately, the prison is so big, no matter what they say, other prisoners will hear it.

"Can you?"

"No need, no one will go out recently, right?" Keir turned his head and said to the jailer outside the prison.

"Yes, yes. I'll lock them up in individual cells later. I promise not to leak the news." Touching the silver coin in his belt, the jailer immediately replied: "But you still speak in a low voice. Better."

"Haha, okay, do you hear that? Mr. Parian? Please keep your voice down."

"Yes, it is."

Afterwards, the algae head Parian's voice was much quieter, and the clerk outside the prison, Ymor, had to **** up his ears to hear what the two said clearly.

The secretary's job is really hard.

-

Soon, Keir led the three out of the tall stone prison.

"Where are you going now?" The clerk had a strange expression on his face, his eyes wandered from side to side, and he even tightly clutched his purse.

Kiel sneered: "Don't worry about your stuff. Now, um, I have to find someone to confirm it. Confirm whether this information is reliable or not."