Chapter 8 Chapter 7 Roger

When his mother cleaned the hotel, Roger always followed behind, waving the small broom in his hand, imitating his mother's movements.She smiled down at him, stroked his bright red hair, and he responded with a big smile; he was three years old. "Go and sweep the back of the firebox, Roger," she said, and he hastily obeyed his mother's orders, inserting the bristles of the broom into the gap between the firebox and the wall, and swept out a pile of sawdust and bark.Her mother gathered what he had swept up in a pile. The door of the inn opened, and Roger's father entered, with firewood under his arms.He left bits of bark and dirt on the ground as he walked across the room.

"Jason!" his mother cried, "I just swept over there!" "I helped too," Roger added loudly. "That's right," her mother agreed, "and your father stained the floor again." "Don't you want the duke and his entourage upstairs to find they don't have enough firewood at night?" Jason asked. "His Excellency will not be here for at least another week," replied his mother. "It's best to prepare when the hotel is not busy, Carly." Jessan said, "God knows how many attendants the Duke will bring to order us around, treating River Bridge Town as Angels."

"If you want to do something useful," Carly said, "the sigils are starting to peel off." Jason nodded. "I know," he said. "Last winter, the cold snap caused the formwork to warp a bit." "Master Pete should have come over to repaint a week ago," Carly said. "I went to him yesterday," said Jessan. "He put all his manpower into work on the bridge, and he said it must be finished before the Duke arrived." "I'm not worried about the Duke," Carly said. "Pete is all about pleasing Lindbergh and then contracting royal projects, but my worries are much simpler, such as not letting my family be eaten by demons at night. "

"Okay, okay," Jason said, raising his hands, "I'll talk to him again." "You don't think Pete is so stupid." Carly continued, "Lin Beck is not our Duke at all." "He is the only duke who has the ability to lend a helping hand when we need urgent help." Jason said, "As long as the courier can get things done and the taxes are not late, Oak doesn't care about Riverbridge Town at all." "That's right," Carly said. "If Lindbergh is going to help, the only reason is because he wants to split the taxes too. We're going to start paying taxes on both sides before Roger sees it next summer."

"Then what do you want us to do?" Jessan asked, "For the sake of the Duke who is two weeks to the north of us, to offend the Duke who is a day away from us?" "I don't want you to spit in his eyes." Carly said, "I just don't understand why pleasing the Duke is more important than redrawing our own family's sigil." "I said I'd go find him," Jason said. "Go then," said Carly. "It's past noon. Take Roger with you. Maybe it'll remind you of what's really important." Jessan suppressed his displeasure and knelt down beside his son. "Want to see the bridge, Roger?" he asked.

"Fishing?" Roger asked.He enjoyed fishing by the bridge with his father. Jason laughed and took Roger in his arms. "No fishing today," he said. "Your mother wants us to find Pete." He sat Roger on his shoulders. "Hold tight now," he said, and Roger hugged his father's head and ducked through the doorframe.His father's neck was covered with prickly mustaches. The bridge is not far from their home.Even from the perspective of a small village, the scale of Heqiao Town is considered small; there are only a few residents and shops in the town, a sentry post for collecting bridge tolls, and an inn.Roger waved to the guards as he passed the toll post, and they waved back to him.

The bridge spans the narrowest channel of the Divide River.The bridge was built many decades ago, with two arches, the bridge is more than three hundred feet long, and the bridge is wide enough for two large carriages to pass in both directions.Milne Engineering checks the strength of the ropes and supports daily.Messenger Avenue—the only avenue—runs away from either side of the bridge. Master Pete stood on the opposite side of the bridge and shouted instructions to the people on the side of the bridge.Roger followed his gaze and saw his apprentices dangling from ropes under the bridge, drawing sigils at the bottom of the bridge.

"Peter!" Jassan yelled as he reached the middle of the bridge. "Ah, Jassan!" cried the magician.Jason put Roger down and shook hands with Pete. "The bridge looks good." Jassan noted that Pete had changed most of the simple paint prints into intricate metal engravings, and the paint had been polished. Pete smiled. "The Duke will be very satisfied when he sees my magic seal." Jason laughed. "Carly is cleaning the hotel," he said. "As long as you can please the Duke, your future will be bright." Peter said, "As long as you can find someone close to you and say a few words, we can leave this ghost place and go to Angels to do business."

"This 'ghost place' is my home." Jessan said with a dark face. "My grandfather was born in Heqiao Town. According to my opinion, my grandson will also be born here." Pete nods. "No disrespect intended," he said. "I just miss Angels." "Then go back." Jason said, "The road is unobstructed, and sleeping on the main road overnight is not a big deal for the magic sealer. You don't need the Duke to be busy if you want to go back to Angels." Pete shook his head. "Angeles are mostly runes." He said, "I'm just a leaf in the woods there. But it's easy to earn a living only if you can win the Duke's favor."

"Yeah, but today I'm only worried about my door," Jassan said. "The sigils are starting to peel off, and Kali doesn't think they'll last tonight. Can you come over and see?" Pete sighed. "I told you yesterday..." But Jason cut him off. "I know what you told me, Pete, but I'm going to tell you that's not good enough," he said, "I'm not going to let my son sleep in an unreliable sigil field just because you're going to mess up the bridge. More artsy. Can you help me fix it first and get us through tonight?" Pete spat. "Then you can do it yourself, Jason. Just redraw along the lines, and I can provide the paint."

"The magic seals drawn by Roger are better than mine, and much better." Jessan said, "I will definitely screw up, and even if I don't die at the hands of the earth core monster, Kali will kill me. " Pete frowned.Just as he was about to reply, a human voice suddenly came from the other side of the avenue. "Ah, Heqiao Town!" "Jie Ruo!" Jessan yelled.Roger suddenly raised his head excitedly, and recognized the burly figure of the messenger.He immediately salivates when he sees the other person, and Jie Ruo gives him candy every time he visits. He was accompanied by a stranger, and the boy was delighted in his bright bard costume.He thought of the sight of the bard singing, dancing, and walking on his head, and he couldn't help jumping with excitement; the bard was Roger's favorite. "Little Roger, he has grown 6 inches so quickly!" Jie Ruo shouted, pulled the reins and dismounted, and picked up Roger.He was tall, bucket-like, with a round face and a big gray beard.Roger used to be terrified of him because he wore metal mail and his lips were always pursed from a demon scar, but he wasn't afraid now; little Roger howled when Gerald scratched his itch. "Which pocket?" Jie Ruo asked, holding the boy in front of him.Roger immediately pointed out that Jieruo put the sugar in the same place every time. The burly messenger laughed and took out a Lysen candy wrapped in corn husks.Roger cheered loudly, jumped down to the grass with a splash, and began peeling the sugar. "What are you doing in Heqiao Town this time?" Jessan asked the messenger. The bard stepped forward, throwing the cloak behind him in a dramatic motion.He was tall, with long hair that shone golden in the sun, and a brown beard.His jaw was square and his skin was a beautiful bronze from the sun.Bright costumes were worn with a good dungaree coat, painted with green leaves on a brown field. "Eric Sweet Song." He introduced himself, "I am the master bard, the Duke of Linbeck III, the guardian of the forest castle, the holder of the wooden crown, and the messenger of the King of Angels. I am for His Excellency the Duke I came here to inspect in advance about my visit next week." "The Duke's emissary is a bard?" Pete raised an eyebrow and asked Jie Ruo. "It's the best candidate for a small village." Jie Ruo said with a blink of an eye. "The villagers are unlikely to hang people who perform juggling for children because of his announcement of raising taxes." Eric gave him a hard look, but Jero just laughed. "Be a good man and go to the innkeeper to help us lead the horse." Eric said to Jason. "I'm the innkeeper," said Roger's father, holding out his palm. "Jason Hotel. This is my son, Roger." He added, pointing to Roger. Eric ignored his palm and the little boy, took out a silver moon coin out of thin air and threw it at him.Jason took the coin and looked at it curiously. "Horse." Eric instructed.Jason frowned, but put the coins in his pocket anyway, and walked towards the horse.Jie Ruo pulled up his rein and waved him away. "I still need you to check my sigil, Pete," Jasan said. "You'll see when I get Carly to yell at you." "It seems that the magic seal of the bridge needs to be strengthened before His Excellency the Duke arrives." Eric noted.Pete immediately stood up straight when he heard this, and then gave Jason a bad look. "Would you like to sleep in a dappled sigil tonight, master bard?" Jassan asked.Eric's bronzed skin immediately turned pale. "If you don't mind, I can take a look for you." Jie Ruo said, "As long as the situation is not too bad, I will fix it myself. If it doesn't work, I will come to Pete myself." He kicked the spear hard on the ground, Then he gave the old magic sealer a cold look.Peter's eyes widened and he nodded understandingly. Jie Ruo picked up Roger and put him on his horse. "Hold on, boy," he said, "let's ride!" Laughing, Roger tugged at the horse's mane, and Gero and his father led the horse to the inn.Eric walked in front of the crowd, as if the people behind him were his entourage. Carly waited at the door of the hotel to greet her. "Jie Ruo! What a surprise!" "This is?" Eric asked, then reached out to straighten his hair and clothes. "This is Carly." Jason said, and after seeing that the light in Eric's eyes did not disappear, he added, "My wife." Eric didn't seem to hear the last sentence, and walked in front of her swaggeringly, throwing the colorful cloak behind him, and bowed in salute. "My pleasure, ma'am," he said, kissing the back of her hand, "I am Eric Sweetsong, Master Bard and Duke of Lynbeck III, Keeper of the Forest Castle, Bearer of the Wooden Crown, Lord of the Angels The king's emissary. Your Excellency the Duke will be very happy to see such a beautiful and charming hostess when he arrives at your hotel." Carly covered her mouth, her pale cheeks as red as her head of red hair.She curtsied and curtseyed back. "You and Jerry must be tired," she said. "Come in, please. I'll serve you some hot soup while I prepare dinner." "That's really great, my lady who is considerate." Eric bowed again after finishing speaking. "Jeruo promised to help us check the magic seal before dark, Carly." Jessan said. "What?" Carly asked, looking away from Eric's handsome smile. "Oh, then you two tie the horses first, and then go to check the magic seal. I will take Master Eric to the guest room, and then prepare dinner." She said. "What a good idea." Eric said, arching his arms for her to hook, and the two walked into the hotel together. "Don't let your wife get too close to Eric." Jie Ruo murmured. "They called him 'Sweet Song' because his voice could make juice drip between the legs of any woman — even the married one." Jason frowned. "Roger," he said, lifting his son off the horse, "go in and be with mother." Roger nodded, and immediately ran into the house after landing. "The bards from last time could eat fire," Roger said, "will you eat fire?" "I will," Eric said, "and spit fire out like a fire demon." Roger applauded, and Eric turned back to stare at Carlie, who was standing bent over behind the bar, helping him Ale; she let her hair down. Roger tugged at his cloak again.The bard folded his cloak to keep him from pulling it, but Roger pulled his trousers instead. "What's the matter?" Eric asked, looking back at him displeased. "Can you sing too?" Roger asked. "I like listening to music." "Maybe I'll sing it to you later." Eric said and turned his head away. "Oh, sing him a song," begged Carly, setting a frothy ale in front of him, "he'll be very happy." She smiled.But Eric's eyes had already moved to the top button of her jacket, and saw that the button opened automatically when she was pouring the wine. "Of course," said Erik with a big smile, "just a sip of your best ale to wash the dust out of my throat." He drank the ale in one gulp, keeping his eyes on her neckline, and then reached into a brightly colored bag on the floor to fumble.Carrie refilled his glass of wine while he took out the lute. Eric plucked the lute lightly, and his baritone voice echoed in the tavern, and his singing was loud and beautiful; he talked about how the country woman missed the opportunity to express her love before the man she loved left for the free city, and then spent her life in regret.Carly and Roger stared at him in admiration, indulging in the moving singing.When he finished, the two applauded loudly. "More!" cried Roger. "Not now, kid," Eric said, stroking his hair. "Maybe after dinner, here," he said, reached into the color bag again, "would you like to try to play some music yourself?" He took out a toy xylophone, several pieces of rosewood boards of different lengths nailed to a bright on the wooden frame.A thick cord binds the body to the stick, which is a six-inch wooden bar with a wooden ball inlaid at the end. "Take this for fun, I have something to say to your beautiful mother," he said. Roger cheered loudly, picked up the toy and ran aside, sat on the wooden floor, struck the piano board in different orders, and happily listened to himself knocking out each clear scale. Carly looked at him with a smile. "He'll be a bard in the future," she said. "Not many customers?" Eric asked, reaching out to a few empty tables and chairs in the front hall. "Oh, there are a lot of people at lunchtime," Carly said, "but at this time of year, we don't have many lodging guests except for the occasional courier." "It must be lonely running an inn that no one's visiting," Eric said. "Sometimes," Carly said, "but Roger's enough for me. It's hard to keep an eye on him even in the off-season, but it's even more terrible in the caravan season, when the drunk drivers sing all night long, and he Once I get excited, I won’t sleep at night.” "I can imagine it would be difficult for you to sleep in that situation," Eric said. "I don't sleep well," Kali admitted, "but Jassan sleeps soundly no matter what the situation." "Really?" Eric asked, sliding his palm over the back of her hand.Her eyes widened and her breath was short of breath, but she didn't flinch. The front door swung open. "The magic seal is all repaired!" Jassan shouted.Carly gasped, and quickly pulled her hand away from Eric's palm, accidentally knocking over his ale.She grabbed a rag and wiped down the bar. "Just make it up?" She asked suspiciously, lowering her eyes to hide her flushed cheeks. "It's not such a good thing." Jie Ruo said, "Honestly, you are lucky that the magic seal has not expired. I fixed the worst part, and I will talk to Pete tomorrow morning. Even if it is pointed at him , I will also make sure that he redraws all the sigils in the inn by tomorrow evening." "Thank you, Jieruo," Carly said, glancing at Jason. "I'm still cleaning out the barn," Jaysan said, "so I tied the horses in the front yard and fenced them off with Jero's portable sigil." "That's good," Carly said, "everyone wash your hands, dinner is almost ready." "It's delicious." Eric said loudly, drinking ale while enjoying dinner.Carly roasted a leg of lamb with herbs and put the best part on the duke's envoy's plate. "I don't think you have a sister as beautiful as you?" Eric asked while eating, "Your Excellency the Duke is looking for a bride." "I thought the Duke was married," Carrie asked, blushing and leaning over to pour him a drink. "He's done," Jero muttered. "This is the fourth." Eric snorted. "If the court rumors are true, the fourth wife will not be able to give birth to a son like the previous ones. Lin Baker will continue to look for a bride until someone helps him to give birth to a son." "You may not be wrong about this point." Jie Ruo admitted. "How many times will the pastor allow him to promise 'eternity' before the Creator?" Jason asked. "He can do it as many times as he wants," Eric assured, "All saints are under the jurisdiction of Chancellor Jason." Jerry spat. "This is not right, the servant of the Creator ruined his reputation for this kind of thing..." Eric raised his finger in warning. "I heard that even the trees are the eyes of the minister in charge." Jie Ruo looked displeased, but did not continue talking. "Well, he's unlikely to find a bride in Heqiao Town." Jessan said, "The women here don't even have enough local men. I still have to go all the way to Cricket Slope to marry Kali." "Are you from the Angels, dear?" Eric asked. "Yes, I was born there," Carly said, "but when I got married, the priest asked me to take an oath to be a Myrnite, and all the townspeople in Riverbridge must swear allegiance to Oak." "For the time being." Eric said. "So the rumors are true." Jessan said, "Linbeck intends to take over Heqiao Town." "It's not that dramatic." Eric said, "Your Excellency just thinks that since half of the townspeople here are from Angels, and the bridge is built and repaired with timber from Angels, of course we should maintain..." He looked at Carly , leaning back in the seat, "a more intimate relationship." "I don't think Oak is willing to share Heqiao Town." Jessan said, "Their territory has been divided by the boundary river for thousands of years. Giving up their own territory is like giving up his throne." Eric shrugged and smiled again. "That's the problem between the Duke and the Chancellor," he said, raising his glass. "There's no need for little people like us to worry about this kind of problem." The sun went down quickly, and there was a crackling sound outside the house, and the magic light flashed with the magic seal between the window leaves.Roger hated the horrible sounds, and the roars that accompanied them.He sat on the ground, banging his instrument harder and harder, trying to drown out the sounds outside. "The earth core monsters are extremely hungry tonight." Jason said worriedly. "They scared Roger," said Carly, getting up and walking towards him. "Don't be afraid." Eric said and wiped his mouth.He walked to the color bag and took out a slender violin case. "Let's drive out the demons." He put the bow on the strings, and the melody of the music immediately echoed in the house.Roger laughed and clapped his hands, and the fear dissipated.They quickly caught Eric's rhythm, his mother clapped along with him, and even Jero and Jasan followed suit. "Dance with me, Roger!" Carrie laughed, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet. She danced and Roger tried to keep up with the beat, but fell and she immediately picked him up and spun around the room kissing him.Roger laughed happily. Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door.Eric's bow slid from the strings, and everyone turned to look at the heavy door that shook violently in the door frame.The dust was shaken by an invisible force and slowly fell to the ground. Jie Ruo was the first to react, and the strong man rushed towards the spear and shield placed by the door at an unimaginable speed.For a long time, the others just stared at him blankly, not understanding why he had such a reaction.Then there was another blow, black claws smashing through the door; Kali screamed. Jassan jumped to the fireplace and pulled out the heavy poker. "Take Roger to the escape door in the kitchen!" he yelled, and as he spoke there was a roar from outside the door. At this time, Jie Ruo had already picked up the spear and threw the shield to Eric. "Get Kali and the boy out!" he yelled as the door shattered and a seven-foot stone demon broke through.Jieruo and Jiesan turned to face it.The demon stopped, threw its head back, and let out a roar of triumph, while the small, agile fire demon took the opportunity to sprint into the house from its feet and crotch. Eric took the shield, but when Carly came running to him for shelter with Roger in her arms, he pushed her aside, picked up his coloring bag, and rushed to the kitchen. "Carly!" Jessan yelled, seeing Carly fell to the ground, twisting her body to protect her son. "Curse you to go to the Demon Realm of the Earth, Eric!" Jie Ruo shouted at the back of the bard, "May all your dreams come to naught!" The stone demon knocked him away with his backhand, and fell far away on the other side of the front hall . A fire demon rushed towards Kali who was struggling to get up, but Jassan swung the poker hard and knocked it aside.It coughed out a mouthful of flame as it landed, and the floor instantly caught fire. "Run!" he yelled as she scrambled to her feet.Roger looked back to see the demon breathing fire at his father as they fled out of the vestibule.Jessan's clothes were on fire and he screamed loudly. His mother hugged him tightly to her chest, sobbing as she ran down the corridor.In the front hall, Jie Ruo let out a painful roar.When rushing into the kitchen, Eric just opened the secret door on the floor and jumped into the ground.He stretched out his hand and groped around for the iron ring used to close the secret door of the sigil. "Master Eric!" Carly yelled, "Wait for us!" "Demon!" Roger screamed, watching a fire demon leap into the kitchen, but it was too late.The force of the impact of the monster in the center of the earth squeezed all the air out of the mother's lungs, but even though the devil's claws were inserted into her body, she still hugged him and refused to let go.She screamed as the fire fiend scurried up her back, his fangs digging into her shoulder and slicing past Roger's right hand; he screamed in pain. "Roger!" his mother cried, stumbling toward the bowl sink and falling to her knees.She screamed in pain, stretched her hand back, and tightly grasped a magic horn on the head of the monster in the center of the earth. "You...don't try...to hurt...my...son!" she yelled, and fell forward, tugging at the demon horns as hard as she could.Carly uprooted the devil's horn and threw it into the bowl together with the devil. The dirty bowl was broken into pieces during the impact, the fire demon made the sound of drowning, and his body twisted violently, the water in the bowl immediately boiled, and the air filled with steam.Callie screamed with burning hands, but refused to let go, holding the demon in the water until it stopped twitching. "Mom!" Roger yelled, and she turned to see the two fire demons jumping into the kitchen again.She grabbed Roger, rushed to the cellar, and opened the heavy door with one hand.Eric stared up at her with his eyes wide open. One of the demons landed on Carly's feet, biting off a large chunk of flesh from the inner thigh, causing her to fall. "Take him away! Please!" she pleaded, pushing her son into Eric's hands. "I love you!" she cried to Roger, slamming the secret door shut, leaving them in the dark. Due to the proximity of the Boundary River, the residents of Heqiao Town built their houses on boulders painted with magic seals in order to resist floods.They waited in the dark, as long as the foundation did not collapse, the monsters in the center of the earth could not move them, but now there was thick smoke everywhere. "Either died at the hands of the devil, or died under the smoke." Eric murmured.He started to leave the secret door, but Roger held on to his feet. "Let go, kid," Eric said, kicking his feet, trying to shake off the brat. "Don't leave me!" Roger cried uncontrollably. Eric frowned.He looked around at the thick smoke and spat. "Hold on, boy," he said, lifting Roger on his back.He raised the cloak as a makeshift strap, carried the little boy behind his back, and tied one corner of the cloak around his waist.He raised Jero's shield and advanced along the foundations, lowering his body and crawling into the night. "O Creator." He whispered, watching the entire Heqiao Town engulfed in flames.Demons danced in the night, dragging out screaming people to feast on. "Looks like your parents weren't the only ones Pete ignored," Eric said. "I hope they drag that bastard into the Inner Earth." Eric crouched behind the shield, and under the cover of thick smoke and chaos, he slowly walked around the hotel and arrived at the front yard.There, they saw two horses standing securely in the circle of Gero's portable sigil; an island of safety amidst the horror. A fiery demon spotted them as Erik ran toward the sigil, but Jero's shield spittled its fire into a magical flash.After entering the magic circle, Eric put Roger down, knelt down and gasped for breath.After regaining his strength, he fumbled frantically in the saddlebags. "It must be here," he murmured, "I know I put it... ah!" He took out the wine bag, tore off the cork, and took a swig. Roger sobbed softly, holding his bloody right hand. "Huh?" Eric asked. "You hurt, kid?" He went over to check Roger's hand, gasping when he saw the boy's right hand.Roger's middle and index fingers were bitten off by the demon. "No!" Roger yelled as Eric tried to remove the hair from his hand, "That's mine!" "I won't take it, kid," Eric said, "I just wanted to see your wound." He put the hair in Roger's other hand, and the boy held it tightly. The wound didn't bleed too much, but part of the wound was burned and rotted by the fire demon's saliva, and pus was constantly oozing out, with a foul smell. "I'm not a herbalist." Eric shrugged, and then sprinkled the red wine from the wine bag on the wound.Roger screamed, and Erik tore a piece of cloth from his fine cloak to bandage his wound. By this time Roger was already crying, and Eric wrapped him tightly in the cloak. "Well, well, boy," he said, hugging Roger tightly and patting him on the back, "we'll live to tell tonight's story. That's great, isn't it?" Roger continued to cry.Eric began to sing a lullaby.He sang softly in burning Riverbridge, and sang along as the demons rejoiced.His singing surrounded them like a shield, and under the protection of his singing, Roger fell into a deep sleep, exhausted.