The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

Qin Duo didn't leave immediately, but waited until Mary came back.

Mary said in a lighter tone, "It's fixed, the coat...seemed to be a runaway time track. Miles deactivated the coat."

Everyone present knew the meaning of the out-of-control time track, but...

Chester said in disbelief: "How? That's my coat! How could it become an out-of-control time track?"

Mary shook her head too.This is an unsolved mystery.

Siles thought wistfully, the out-of-control timeline... It seems that he has to re-examine this concept?The focus is not on "time track", but on "out of control".

Under the perspective of [Akamala's Spectacle Frame], he saw that strange hazy mist...

What exactly is that?

He didn't have time to think about it, Qin Duo said goodbye to them quickly.The other three were a little uneasy about Qindo's temporary departure, but in order to solve this incident, it seemed necessary.

After deciding to leave, Qin Duo didn't hesitate or give up.But before leaving, he still gave Sirius a gentle hug.

Alva's eyes widened.After realizing that they had only hugged, Alva let out a very regretful sigh.

Qin Duo glanced at him, but showed a more genuine smile.

Mary sighed, "Mr. Cinder, you are much more peaceful now."

The usual Chindo Playa would not have communicated and communicated with them so cordially, or even analyzed and resolved the predicament together.He has always just put on a high and arrogant posture, refused to communicate with anyone, and only shot at the most critical time.

But now, he can be said to be a completely different person.

Qin Duo was noncommittal, looked at Sirius for the last time, and then waved goodbye to them.

"I'll try to be back by tomorrow night," Cinder said, "so don't put yourself in danger tomorrow."

This time Alva knew that this warning was not aimed at them and other people, but only at Siles.He opened his eyes wide and looked at Siles, expecting in his heart that Professor Noel, who was always indifferent, would say something nice.

Unfortunately, in the end, Siles just said simply: "I understand."

Qin Duo seemed to leave contentedly, but the other three sighed in unison.

Siles looked at them inexplicably.

Alva was the first to recover, and asked impatiently, "Professor, tell us quickly, what did you find outside this afternoon?"

Siles pondered for a moment, and then told what they found, similar to what he said to Mary before. Of course, he also added his guess about "Lila caused the deaths of the workers".

However, he kept the nature of Stardust and the fabric of the camp tent a secret for the time being.It may not be appropriate to say the secrets that involve the world at this time.

Mary suddenly realized, and said, "So, you asked Mr. Qindo to go back to Biddle City, just to investigate the matter of Joseph and Lila?"

"Yes." Sirius nodded.

Alva pondered for a while, seemed to understand, and muttered to himself: "So, a group of followers of the old gods once split, resulting in the experience of the doctor and the experience of Joseph and Lila.

"And these followers of the old gods are still carrying out their own plots, and plan to do something in Hales House. It may be recently-is that right?

"...Huh, that doesn't look like it has anything to do with my grandfather Bonet!"

He seemed greatly relieved. I am afraid that he has been worried about the "mistake" of the map for a while, and he is afraid that this incident will cause a terrible follow-up.

"That heart-shaped canyon..." Mary pondered for a moment, "It really didn't cause any tragedy. However, the concept of 'mistake on the map' itself makes people never forget the 'non-existent city'."

They were all silent for a moment.

Chester said in a more gentle tone: "However, now that the truth has been told, the ups and downs related to this rumor will slowly melt into people's jokes."

"Maybe so." Mary looked a little depressed, she said, "To tell you the truth, I also grew up hearing the rumor of 'a city that doesn't exist'.

"I can't imagine that this story is just a coincidence, and even someone deliberately fueled the flames, made mistakes, and then sent countless explorers to die."

die.indeed so.

Siles thought that the appearance of the heart-shaped canyon is also an extremely strange problem.Even stranger...

Siles finally recalled the train of thought that was interrupted by the attack.

Why does the heart-shaped canyon really appear?

In the early Bonet version of the map, the heart-shaped canyon appeared because Bonet wanted to please his wife.The heart-shaped canyon in the lower right corner of the map in the southeast direction just symbolizes the beating heart in the left chest cavity.

If the map is held face-out facing someone, the heart-shaped canyon overlaps exactly with the human heart.A romance and a confession only a cartographer could possibly dream up.

And that was what happened in the first hundred years of the Mist Age.

In other words, at that time, the gods had all died out, and Anti-Num appeared, and human civilization was entering a state of extreme decline but would also usher in a state of vigorous development.At that time, the rumor of the "non-existent city" had already spread in the Land of No Embers.

…Afterwards, fog covered the area where the heart-shaped canyon was located, that is, near Hales House.

Therefore, humans cannot verify whether the heart-shaped canyon exists, and whether this is where the "non-existent city" is located.

If they could go and explore around there, the "mistake" would be quickly discovered and ruled out, and everyone would be happy.While Burnett's reputation is diminished, the next 400 years of death, killing and loss will be undone.

However, mist covered the vicinity.But when the fog dissipated, the heart-shaped canyon really appeared.So this "mistake" was naturally covered up, and it was impossible for people to find that "mistake" again.

Because there are no "errors" on the map anymore!

Who wouldn't want explorers to find this bug?Those behind the scenes who contributed to the flames.

...fog.Why is it so coincidental that the fog enveloped that area at that time?

Siles lowered his eyes, thinking of those black figures hidden in the mist.He thought, followers of the old gods... the mist... the three elements of the gods...

What exactly is the fog?

Stardust is the embers of the gods, but what about the mist?Godhead or God Name?

Those followers of the old gods, can they somehow control the fog?Or, call?

Wait, fog?

Siles suddenly thought of what happened in the kitchen of the palace dinner.At that time, the crazy believers made a feast for themselves, thereby attracting the power of Temia law-this is the speculation of Sirius, and he thinks this is the truth.

At that time, the power of the Temia method appeared as a very wonderful red mist.

mist.strength.But the colors are different, Sirius thought.

He has actually encountered different colors many times, under the dual perspective of the ritual time and [Akamala's Spectacle Frame].

The blue color of Luthmi, the god of stars and light; the red color of Temiafa, the god of gluttony and lust; perhaps the overly rich blue on Qin Duo can be said to symbolize Lygardia?That could almost be described as blue-purple.

And just now, he saw a light black gray mist on Doctor Chester's body.Not off-white, but more akin to steel gray.There is a high probability that it is Huddoka's power color.

In other words, colors symbolize the power of the gods, that is, the godhead, and thus there are different kinds of colors.However, fog is probably just one of the manifestations.

For example, the blue radiance on the revealer clearly symbolized Antinam, but it was not expressed in the form of mist.

Although these powers did appear and still exist, their whereabouts do not seem to be fixed, at least not as "inherent" as Stardust.

For example, the power of the summoned gods, such as the power mastered by some followers of the old gods, such as the deep sea dream encountered by Sirius... In any case, these powers are indeed very scattered, as if scattered in different corners of the world .

...a runaway timeline.Siles thought.

The out-of-control time track causes the spiritual inactivation of human beings, that is, the loss of spirituality, which corresponds to the godhead of the old gods.This is also evidenced by the strange mist seen by Siles on Dr. Chester's coat.

But the question is, why would that fog connect to the stardust in the tent fabric?

This baffled Sirius.

Maybe the godhead and god position of the old gods are still related?Or maybe followers of the Old Gods have a way to use both?

Once again, Siles felt that he didn't know enough about the supernatural power of this world, especially about the old gods.After all, that is the past that has become the dust of history.He can only guess with his imagination and known information.

Maybe when Qin Duo comes back, he can ask this blood descendant of the old god.

The gods became star dust, and the bodies of these old gods turned into underground mines; the godheads were scattered all over the world, and the power of these old gods returned to the earth like a whale falling.

That leaves only the will of the gods—the name of the gods.

...the layers of fog that hang over this world.

Siles once thought about the relationship between the emergence of the mist and the fall of the old gods.But now, Siles is gradually inclined to believe that the fall of the old gods caused the fog to appear.

After all, there are no old gods in the middle of the fog they are in now, but the fog still exists in this world.If the mist appeared to kill the old gods, why should it continue to exist after the old gods fell?

Moreover, the appearance and characteristics of the mist also made Sirius more sure of his speculation.

Those fogs are gray-black without exception, and people will feel lost and crazy when they walk in, which is obviously related to the will of the gods, which has caused spiritual pollution.

... Is this the ending after the fall of the old gods?

Siles thought again, I really don't know what happened in this world during the Shadow Period and the Silence Period.

He sighed secretly, and temporarily retracted his thoughts back to the current situation.

Now, they already know that the ultimate goal of the mastermind behind the scenes is Hales House.However, they still don't know what actions these people will take, and what goals they want to achieve in the end.

Awakening the Old Gods... indeed.However, the results of the actions of the believers of Temia Law were very obvious, and they failed.So, what method will these followers of the old gods who have taken advantage of the believers of the Temia method choose?

After thinking for a while, Siles asked, "Ms. Mary, can you introduce us to the controller behind Hales House?"

"Hales House..." Mary thought for a moment, and then replied, "I told you before that the original prototype of Hales House came from a businessman's inn, and its building was a tent. continues to this day.”

Siles nodded and said, "We already know that."

"Then, during the Age of Fog, people reused the buildings at that time as a gathering place for explorers in Gladstone, and slowly developed into a huge post station." Mary said.

Hearing this, Chester couldn't help asking: "So, Hales House doesn't have a clear ruler?"

"The ones in power..." Mary was embarrassed, "If I have to say it, it might be the merchants. It's not the merchants who have become rich in recent years, but the merchant families who have been doing business for generations.

"Many post stations in the Land of No Embers were established by them. Together they formed a merchant alliance, which can be described as such, but secretly.

"They control businesses such as taverns, casinos, restaurants, horses, money houses, etc. They can basically be said to be the underground masters of Neverland. But from another perspective, they are not so much compared to explorers... …'powerful'."

"Strong in strength." Siles said in a low voice.

Mary nodded and said, "So, people usually think that merchants are just a bunch of cunning, mercenary guys. They sometimes look down on merchants.

"I was also an explorer before, but later I felt that such a life was too unstable, so I accepted Mr. Langmire's employment. Because of this, my reputation among explorers can be said to be mixed.

"They always think that my choice is very despicable - succumbing to those greedy businessmen, they will think so. Although they have heard and feared my former reputation, there is always a little bit of fear in that fear. contempt and contempt."

Siles suddenly realized.In the view of business people in this era, this attitude is quite normal.Rather, people haven't realized that economic activity can make that much difference.

And this era is an era of stagnation.Because of the existence of the fog, this world has lost its future in a sense.While the fog is indeed lifting, it also seems to take something out of people's hearts.

... the old gods.This is a world with gods.

Alva said hastily: "But, Ms. Mary, your life is much better than theirs now."

Mary smiled, and said heartily: "That's true! So, I don't care what those guys think of me. I don't want to continue to live and die at this age!"

They all laughed, and with an attitude of approval and approval.

Siles didn't participate, but continued to ask after the topic passed: "In the land of no embers, will the merchant be suspected of being related to Huddoka?"

"Huddoka?" Mary was obviously taken aback.

Alva said: "No way. Isn't there Menawaka?"

Sure enough, Sirius thought.Because of the existence of Menawaka, people will acquiesce that businessmen must believe in Menawaka—that is directly related to their occupations!

However, isn't Huddoka's deceitful attribute also very much in line with the wishes of businessmen?Especially those businessmen who like to go sideways.

Doctor Chester quickly said: "Wait, professor, you mean that the merchants may also be related to Huddoka and participate in the current incident?"

"Maybe." Siles didn't give a clear answer.

As for the possibility that Menawaka swallowed Huddoka... There is no need to mention such things.That's just a guess.

Mary said thoughtfully: "Then, Hales House..."

"I'm not sure if the Hales House is helping the abuser," Cilles said. "I don't see how Miles is helping the other party just by the way he behaves."

"Myers is only the manager of Hales House." Mary said, "It should be said, the operator. It is unlikely that he is really involved in the conspiracy behind it, and those things that are discussed under the table."

Siles was a little surprised to learn this, but considering what Miles has been doing... it seems understandable.

He asked, "So, who will it be?"

Mary thought for a moment, and gave a name that surprised Sirius: "Andy."

Siles was taken aback.

Tavernkeeper Andy?

Mary said: "Glass clink... This pub has been around for a long, long time at Hales House, at least for decades. Now the pub owner, Andy, has inherited his father's work and has become the owner of the pub. boss.

"You've seen Andy, too. He's very short, and that's because he's of mixed race."

"Half-breed?" Siles was a little confused, "You mean...those tribes?"

"Yes, you are very perceptive," said Mary, "Andy's mother, or rather, his matriarchal family, were Aboriginal people who lived near Hales House from long, long ago.

"After the explorers gathered here, people had some conflicts with those aborigines because of conflicts of land or other interests. In short, after the peace talks, it was Andy's mother's faction that finally agreed to the peaceful coexistence of the two sides.

"Many of these short houses belong to those aborigines. They are short in stature, so the height of these houses is so low. This piece of land originally belonged to them, so no one dared to come here to make trouble.

"As time went by, these aborigines gradually became close to other people, and even intermarried.

"However, Andy's mother's family, their intermarriage partners are always very sensitive, because they nominally control the land in the Hales House area. This is why there is no adventure group in this area. .

"In short, Andy's mother is the leader of this generation of the tribe, and Andy's father... If I remember correctly, he was originally a high-level executive of a large adventure group nearby. Ernes House opened the tavern.

"During this process, he met his wife, and finally got married and had children. The combination of the two parties...in the end, no explorers in the Hales House dared to mess with Andy, and Andy became Hales' son. There are enough weighty words in the family."

Siles suddenly understood.

Andy, the tavern owner... This is also a subject that Siles once suspected.

But the strange thing is, if Andy knew the inside story, knew, and even supported the actions of those behind the scenes, then why didn't he deliberately mislead Alfonso, Emmanuel, and even Siles when they appeared?

He even gave Alfonso and Emmanuel information about the survivor.

unless……

Siles' heart sank.Unless, he thought, the survivor himself would lead them astray.

If the explorer that Apprentice Jules met was indeed the survivor, then his tone when he mentioned the "Palace in the Sky" did not sound like fear or chagrin.

As for Andy's statement, such as the survivor once said that he was "sorry to Isherwood", that was just Andy's one-sided statement.They can even collude to deliberately mislead Alfonso and Emanuel.

Whether or not that person was a survivor of Isherwood's team was even unclear.

...if that's the case...

Siles faces the possibility, almost calmly, that both Alfonso and Emmanuel are dead.

He thought of another reason for Alfonso and Emmanuel's ambiguity in that letter, namely, that they doubted that the letter would reach Siles safely, so they did not want to mention it in the letter. and the clues they found.

Siles frowned slightly.

"Do you think Andy is helping the evildoers?" Mary asked keenly, "It's not impossible... In fact, that tavern is a very important channel for the Hales House to circulate information.

"Andy must be very clear that in the past few years, there have been rumors about 'non-existent cities' and 'treasure maps' from time to time, and they were all fabricated out of thin air. If he hadn't secretly provided help, then such rumors would not have spread so fast.

"...However, from another perspective, he may just feel that the matter has nothing to do with him. After all, in Hales House, no one dares to mess with him. The clinking of wine glasses has always existed, in the past and now. "

Siles nodded, admitting that it was also possible.Whether it is Alfonso and Emmanuel, or the followers of the old gods behind the scenes, Andy does not help each other and always remains neutral... This can be said to be a better situation.

Then he suddenly realized a piece of information that Mary mentioned: "You said that wine glass clinking is an important information circulation channel for Hales House?"

Mary was stunned, and said: "Yes." She paused, and then said, "Because this tavern is old enough and its backing is strong enough, people believe the information it provides."

Siles nodded, closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and said in a low voice: "I feel that we are very close to solving this incident. But..."

However, they haven't been able to find the breakthrough that broke the game.

...In fact, there is a more simple and crude method, which is to set fire to the camp of Hales House.However, if the man behind the scenes cannot be found, then this approach is only drinking poison to quench thirst.

Chester looked at the time, and then said in a timely manner: "It's getting late. Maybe we can rest for a while and think about it tomorrow. Professor, don't be too burdened. It is because of your kindness that you are willing to investigate this matter.

"But no matter what, you also have to pay attention to your body, stay safe and healthy."

Siles was startled, then thanked Chester softly.

It was nearly ten o'clock, and they went back to their rooms.

After Cendo left, Siles was left alone in his room.The empty room made him feel a little uncomfortable.He stood there a moment, then thought, that habit is indeed a force to be reckoned with.

However, he didn't have that much time to be grateful, so he washed up quickly, and then fell into a deep sleep.

In the dream, the puzzle still seemed to haunt him.

In fact, he has tried his best to avoid thinking about the messy truth.He just wants to solve this matter as soon as possible, and more investigation and logical thinking can wait until they find the culprit.

But... "found".This process obviously requires them to investigate the truth related to this matter.

... a mess.He inadvertently thought.

In the early morning of the second day, after waking up early, Siles realized that the others were still sleeping.So he went back to the bedroom, thought about it, put on the [Silent Heart], and prayed.

This brought his will to 97.A very scary number.

However, Qin Duo is not there after all, and Sirius' trust in Mary is not so deep, so he must take various measures to protect himself.

He couldn't help but think that although the followers of the god of asceticism and silence, Brancani, were a bit annoying, the god himself was quite respectable, after all, this ritual was very useful.

Then again, in the little gossip book "Gods and Believers in the Shadows" full of fabricated atmosphere, it was mentioned that Timiafa and Brown Carney had a meal together.

... "had a meal"?

This "meal" can't be Erkoo, the god of drink and pleasure...?

Alcoholism is also mentioned in the book...so Temijafa got Erkool drunk and then "ate" Erkool with Browncarni?But why should the two gods eat together?

Thinking about it, Sirius couldn't help but took a deep breath.He felt that he should be thinking wildly.No one can say that the contents of that book must be true, right?

He shook his head, forgetting those thoughts and thinking about the mess before them.

There are two top priorities for them: first, they need to find the hiding place of the black hand behind the scenes; second, if they can't find it, then they need to wait for the black hand behind the scene to take the initiative to expose.

And that would likely put them in a situation similar to that of the cook at the dinner before God's birthday.Even if they knew that House of Hales was the final stage, they didn't know what the followers of the old gods were going to do.

That's very dangerous, and very close.Of course, Sirius didn't think they could really resurrect the old gods.It's just that the uncontrollable nature of the power of the gods makes it hard for him to believe that the situation will turn around easily, regardless of the "big failure" that happened in the kitchen after the dinner.

But he can't really rely on the judgment of the dice so much.That's not a wise choice.

So...they'd better take the initiative to find the culprits.

Siles thought so.

Where will they hide?

Siles thought about it, and then listed a few options.

House of Hales, The Mists Beyond the Stardust Lode, Corona Canyon.

These three options are their currently known suspicious locations.

Hales House.The wonderfully glowing cloth proves that this may well be the final altar.Siles believes that the mastermind behind the scenes must have some control here, but will they be here themselves?

Siles thought for a moment, finally shook his head, and put this option to the end.He didn't think the people behind the scenes would go to the stage before the curtain actually opened, even if they did have something set up here.

The mist beyond the Stardust veins.This was because Siles had already seen the black figure in the mist.Of course, those black figures didn't seem to know that Sirius had spotted them.

The fog is a natural hiding place, because even if people know that there may be "something" in it, after all, it is impossible for people to go in and see for themselves.

Celeste can.However, from another perspective, they were attacked there, but they did not die.

From the other party's point of view, they must think that the three of Sires already knew that there was an enemy over there.Even if they don't know that the enemy is hiding in the mist, they must know that there are enemies in that area.

Therefore, they are likely to choose to move temporarily, because that area has been exposed.

Then there's only one last suspicious location left... Heart Canyon.

The reason why Siles thinks Corona Canyon is suspicious is because it is a spectacle made out of nothing and out of thin air.And that is very likely to be specially created by the black hand behind the scenes in order to hide his purpose.

Since it is man-made, it is quite normal to leave some organs and secret passages as a settlement or safe house.

...Of course, Siles actually suspected another place.That is, the tribal ruins that Alfonso and Emanuel discovered at the beginning.

Thinking about it now, the tribal ruins seemed very strange.

Ten years ago, Isherwood set out to find "cities that didn't exist."There is a high probability that they strayed into the ruins of the temple or other similar places, and eventually turned into statues.

According to the analogy of their actions, Alfonso and Emmanuel followed Isherwood's whereabouts. If they searched according to the same treasure map, they should also arrive at the same place.

...but they found a strange tribal relic?

Prophet, parchment, pen.Alfonso had vaguely mentioned some information related to the tribe's ruins, but it didn't sound like it had anything to do with Huddoka.

According to the consistent style of this group of followers of the old gods hiding behind the scenes, they seem to have been guiding explorers to those temple ruins or other dangerous locations intentionally or unintentionally.But Alfonso and Emmanuel's team has become an exception.

Why did they find that tribal relic?Ten years ago, why did the black hands behind the scenes have such negligence?

Siles pinched the bridge of his nose with a headache, thinking to himself, there are really more and more problems.

Moreover, there is another question that has been neglected for a long time and is of lesser importance but still of great concern-where are Professor Kabell and Assistant Professor Mervyn?

He thought for a while, then left the bedroom when he heard other people getting up outside.

Ten minutes later, the four of them left the low house and headed for the camp.

After a night of snow, the air is filled with a damp and cold atmosphere.Some snowflakes accumulated on the ground, which also made them stamp their feet with the cold along the way.Although there is no snow now, the gloomy weather still casts a cloud over people's hearts.

When they arrived at the camp, the curtain was raised, and the warm atmosphere finally made the chill in their hearts completely disappear.

Early in the morning, the explorers played cards there.They saw Chester and Alva, and greeted them with great interest.Alva asked in surprise: "You won't play cards here all night, will you?"

"Some people are, some people are not." An explorer said disapprovingly, "It's cold, and no one wants to go outside, so just play cards in this warm place."

That's an exaggeration, Sirius thought.Are explorers unwilling to go out and take risks these days just to play cards?

They went to the restaurant on the second floor for breakfast.

Chester asked, "Professor, what are you going to do today?"

Siles thought for a moment, then said, "Let's go to the pub first. I have some questions for Andy."

Due to what happened last night, they are all very cautious now and do not plan to act separately.Even Alva, who was the liveliest, obediently followed behind them at this time.

However, he still discussed the card game routine with Chester in a very nonchalant manner.

The wine glass on the second floor has already opened the door, and it is still quiet inside. One or two explorers got drunk here and fell asleep there.Andy didn't chase anyone away either, he was just flipping through something bored behind the counter.

Seeing Celes, he said in amazement: "Ah, Mr. Noel." He looked at Alva and Chester, and said, "You and your companions have indeed brought the House of Hales A different vibe."

Andy really already knew about the cards.

This didn't surprise Sirius.He went to the bar and sat down.The rest were sitting around a table not far away, and they naturally handed over the right to speak to Siles.

Andy looked at them, then asked, "Kirsch, sir?"

"No, I'm not used to drinking." Siles said, "I'm here to ask you for a piece of information." He paused, and then said, "I can pay the corresponding coin amount."

"Oh, of course!" The little tavernkeeper laughed loudly, "You already know the rules here, which is very good!"

Siles remained silent.

Andy didn't care, he just asked, "What do you want to ask?"

"A crazy old man, and a gloomy and pale young man, they should both come to the Land of Embers for the first time." Siles said, "Have you seen these two people? During this summer .”

"Summer...that's a very distant time." Andy fell into deep thought, "Is there any more information?"

Siles thought, sure enough, you can buy information on the whereabouts of explorers from Andy.

Wine Glass Clink is the information distribution center of Hales House.That of course refers to more than information related to the Fog, which is not enough to be called an intelligence center.

Most critical, is information related to the actions of other explorers.

Of course, if Celes can buy other people's, then other people can also buy Celes.From this perspective, the reason why he was attacked yesterday may be that someone bought information about Siles from Andy.

...Information dealers can indeed be regarded as a double-edged sword.

Siles added: "They may be looking for... a place related to the fall of the old gods."

Andy's face remained unchanged, and he muttered that he had a bad memory and had to think carefully.He lowered his head and flipped through something, and Sirius noticed that it was an extremely heavy book, like an account book or a record book.

After a while, he suddenly clapped his hands and said with a smile: "I remember! The old and the young!" He turned to say, "I don't need money from you—I just need information."

Siles nodded slowly, and suddenly smiled: "And you will exchange the information I provided with other people, won't you?"

Andy smiled and said, "Of course, sir."

Siles thought that in a way, Andy also served as a "secret keeper".However, it is limited to this form of "telling information".actually, andy