Chapter 19 Chapter Fifteen

"Do you really want to do this?" Singers asked when he found him in the modest home of his friend Tog Dungeon, who ignored his gaze and slammed his valuable possessions away. Into a big sack. "You know I will." "I just know you've been talking about it." Singers corrected, "Don't you feel that you are very disorganized and not suitable for making such a decision?" "Bah!" Togg snorted, looking up from his pack into his friend's eyes. "Did they give me another choice? Agranther was on the wall just to shut me up...Shut me up!! I fought for the Marquis, for Mirabar for three hundred years. My scars are bigger than A Granter has more scars than Erastu and the four personal guards combined. Now I can only stand obediently and listen to Agrante's gossip, and let the three beside me The guy in the show is watching my show with all his sensuality?"

"Then where are you going?" Singers asked, "Mithral Hall?" "That's right." "Where you'll get a hug and a cask of ale?" he said sarcastically. "King Bruno is not my enemy." "Not as 'friend' as you think," Singers retorted. "He'll wonder why you're here, and then he'll think you're a spy." It was a reasonable inference, but Togg shook his head at every word he heard.Even if Singers said that the score is not bad, this potential possibility for Togue is no more embarrassing than his current situation in Mirabar.Over the years, his reputation has grown day by day, becoming the last member of the Hammers on the front line. He has always hoped to change this situation, with the help of what he learned from King Bruno dozens of days ago, and more importantly, from his understanding of Mi Rabbah's love set off, and he kept thinking that his children would be better off if they were raised among the Warhammers.

Perhaps it would take months, or even years, to gain the trust of Bruno's subjects, but that was all. He stuffed the last item into his bag, carried the bulging bag on his shoulders, and turned to walk towards the door.To his surprise, Singers handed him a glass of ale, and at the same time raised his own to toast him. "Cheers to a path that gives you monsters to kill," said the older dwarf. Togg clinked glasses with him. "I'll kill them for you." Singers smiled and gulped down his drink. Togg understood that his reply to the toast was merely polite.Singers was in a completely different situation at Mirabar.

The old dwarf was the patriarch of a large clan, and it was not a trivial matter for them to move their entire clan to Mithril Hall. "I'll miss you, Torg Hammer," said the old dwarf. "The potters and glassblowers won't keep their jobs. There won't be broken cups and bowls for them to replace in the taverns in town." Togg smiled, took another sip of his wine, returned the glass to Singers, and walked to the door again.He stopped suddenly and turned around, looked at his old friend with gratitude, and patted him on the shoulder from the bottom of his heart. He stepped out, drawing the attention of hundreds of dwarves as he crossed the dungeon's main road.The banging of the anvil ceased as he walked by.The dwarves of Mirabar had heard of Togg's recent quarrel with those in power, of many conflicts; of his stubborn insistence on King Bruenor's visit, and how he had been treated unfairly.

They saw him striding resolutely, carrying a huge suitcase, towards the stairs leading to the above-ground part of the city... Togg didn't look at them.This is his choice, his journey.He didn't invite anyone to join him other than talking to Singers, and he didn't expect public solidarity, and he understood the order of magnitude difference.At this moment, he was leaving the city as a member of a family that had served Mirabar for centuries.No dwarf would walk away so lightly.For the bearded race, home and family are the meaning of their existence. When they got to the ladder, several dwarves followed Togg, and Singers was among them.He heard their murmurs, some in support, some that he was crazy, but he ignored them.

When he came to the upper city, the sun was shining in the evening, and he found that the discussion about his journey had already begun, and a considerable number of dwarves and humans had already gathered.If they didn't follow him personally, they followed him to the east gate with their eyes. The comments on the ground about the wayward dwarf's evaluation are not as friendly as before, Togg heard "traitor" "idiot" I don't know how many times. He didn't refute.He had imagined it all in his mind and withstood it when he packed his clothes before leaving.

That's okay, he reminded himself, because once he's out the east gate, he'll never have to see or speak to these guys again. This thought almost stopped him halfway. almost. The dwarf replayed his conversation with Agranther over and over in his mind, using it to strengthen his resolve, to recall to himself the fact that he was accomplishing the necessary thing.He did not abandon Mirabar entirely, for Mirabar only rejected King Bruenor, and reprimanded those who dared to help the visiting dwarven leader.This is no longer the city of life and glory that his ancestors had built, Torgg thought to himself.This is not a city that sets an example for its people.The city is in decline.It prefers to fight rivals through gossip and sabotage rather than to regain market share by improving its own competitiveness.

He reached the gate, where a pair of dwarf soldiers looked at him in disbelief, while a pair of human soldiers glared at him.He heard a familiar voice greet him. "Don't do that." Agranta ran to the dwarf with a serious face and suggested. "Stop wasting your tongue." "There are more people at risk here than a dwarf who has decided to go," the councilor tried to explain. "You understand, don't you? You know your people are watching, and yours Behavior leading to the spread of whispers among our people?" Togg stopped suddenly and turned his face to the lost congressman.He wanted to make a good comment on Agranther's dwarf accent, because it was closer to human language habits.He found out curiously that it was quite appropriate for Agranther, as the intermediary, to speak in two very different accents.

"The dwarves of Mirabar asked the questions you dreaded, and that may be a thing of the past." Agranther shook his head in doubt, shrugged, and sighed helplessly. Togg stared at him for another moment, then stomped toward the city gate, paying no heed to the expressions of the four guards there, nor the crowd of dwarves and humans following him.They followed all the way to the city gate before stopping in unison. One bold guy yelled "Bless Moradin, Torgg Hammerstriker!" A few more people shouted a few less violent farewell words. Togg continued walking, with his back to the setting sun.

"This idiot really did that." De Gava of the Hammerhead Guard said to the surrounding soldiers.They all straddle armored horses. They hid in the northeast direction outside the east gate of Mirabada, behind a pile of gravel on the cliff, an elongated figure appeared at the east gate, walking proudly and firmly along the road. De Gaval and his entourage were not surprised at all.They had heard of the mass defection just before Tog left the dungeon, but they had been prepared for such an emergency.So quietly they slipped out by the North Gate; and all attention was then on the Dwarves who were going towards the East Gate.A roundabout route brought them to where they were currently parked.

"If I had my way, I'd kill him, and let the vultures eat his rot," said De Garvay to the others, "what a traitor! —that's one of his weaknesses—now you know your part here?" In response, the three looked at a fourth cavalryman with a tough hunting net. "You give him one chance to surrender, only one!" De Gava explained. The four nodded in understanding. "When do you do it, Hammerhead de Gaval?" asked one. "Wait patiently," advised the seasoned leader, "keep him away from the city so that those inside can't hear it. We're not here to start a riot, but merely to keep traitors from bringing our secrets to the enemy. " Their stern faces convinced de Galva that these few of his handpicked fighters understood their role and the importance of their trip. The dust was flying all the way, and after a while they caught up with Togg.The dwarf was sitting on a stone, stroking his aching feet, pouring sand from his shoes, when suddenly four people appeared.He jumped up, and even reached the axe, when he evidently recognized the cavalryman, and sat down, pretending to be defiant. Four warriors rushed to surround him, their well-trained mounts at the ready. A moment later, De Gaval stepped out.Torger snorted to show that this was what he expected. "Togg the Hammer," declared De Galva, "by the decree of the Marquis Erastus Laurum, I hereby declare you banished from Mirabar." "I know myself," replied the dwarf. "Are you going east along the road to Bruenor Warhammer's Mithril Hall?" "Ah, I don't think King Bruno has time to see me, but if he asks, I'll go. Yes." He spoke so casually, so sincerely, that the faces of the five people were all tangled with anger.This made Togg very happy. "In this case, you have committed the crime of treason." "Treason the city?" Togg said angrily, "You are not going to declare war on Mithril Hall, are you?" "They were already open rivals." "That doesn't make it treason for me to even go there." "Or it's espionage!" shouted De Gava, "Surrender!" Togg looked at him carefully for a while, showing no sentimental willingness at all that the surrender was about to happen.He glanced at the ax lying aside. That was the excuse the Mirabar guards wanted.The two men on Togg's left cast their nets, and the horses galloped past Togg on both sides, caught him in the net bag, and brought him from the seat to the ground. Togg panicked, tearing at the network cable, trying to get himself out.But the other two guards pulled out solid wooden sticks near the left, swung them away and hit them.When Togg was beaten and kicked, he took time to bite a person, but he was in an irreversible disadvantage. The soldiers quickly knocked the dwarf half unconscious before pulling him from the net and stripping him of his strong armor. "Let's go back while the men are fast asleep," de Garvall told them. "I told the Ax Guards to make sure that no dwarves were on the walls at midnight." Looking back on this incident, Santilla • Xingyao was not very surprised, but she was really panicked at the time.At that time, the Consul was standing on her balcony stroking her hair and admiring the night view. Suddenly, she noticed that there was a little movement at the east gate of the city. From her balcony, she just saw it clearly. The city gate was opened wide, and several cavalry entered the city.Santilla recognized Hammerhead's Captain De Gavar by his vaunted plume.Although it was difficult to see the details, it was not difficult for Santilla to make out the small shambling figure behind the cavalryman, wearing only breeches and a torn shirt, his hands tied behind his back, and the other end of the rope was tied behind a horse. She held her breath, but was exposed anyway as the convict procession passed her ledge. Torg Hammerer staggered past four cavalry, with a fifth chasing him after him.He looked visibly beaten. They didn't even let the poor man put on his boots. "Oh Erastus, what have you done?" asked Santillamer.Her voice visibly trembled because she knew that the Marquis had made a serious mistake. The knock on her door sounded like the mage's lightning, jolting Santilla out of her slumber.Half asleep, she jumped out of bed reflexively to open the door. She pulled open the door, stood still, and saw De Gavar standing outside her apartment, leaning against the wall.She felt his eyes roving her body from head to toe, and suddenly remembered that she was wearing very little on this warm summer night, except for a silk smock she had just covered. Santilla covered the door to only a crack, and almost all of herself hid behind, staring at the Hammerhead Guard Captain De Gavar who smiled ambiguously through the crack of the door. "Ma'am." De Garvat nodded slightly, wearing his open-faced helmet that reflected the fire. "What time is it?" she asked. "How many hours until dawn." "Then what's the matter with you?" Santilla asked again. "I am surprised to see you resting, ma'am," said de Gavas, with feigned ignorance. "I saw you quite soberly standing on the balcony not so long ago." She was completely relieved and remembered what she had seen and heard on this extraordinary night.At this moment, everything became clear to Santilla. "I fell asleep shortly after that." "No doubt your quick little brain still has a lot of questions." "It's my business, De Gava," Santilla was sure her voice had injected a tinge of anger to hold back the overconfident guy, "do you have anything else to say about disturbing my sleep? What urgent matters does the Marquis have to worry about? Because, if not..." "We have to discuss what exactly you witnessed on the balcony, ma'am," De Garva said coldly, even if he was a little affected by Santilla's menacing tone, he didn't show it. "Who said I saw it?" "Indeed, you must remember what happened." Santilla's blue eyes widened. "My dear de Gavar, are you threatening the consul of Mirabar?" "I'm asking you to make the right decision," Hammerhead De Garval refused to budge. "On the orders of the Marquis himself, the traitor Togg has been arrested." "Savagely..." "No, he surrendered to the judiciary without resistance," De Galva argued. Santilla didn't believe a word of him.She knew De Gavard and the rest of the Hammerheads enough to know they wouldn't give up fighting when the time came. "He was brought back to Mirabar under cover of night for some reason, my lady. Of course you understand that this is a sensitive matter." "Because the dwarves of Mirabar, even those who opposed Torgue, would not rejoice at finding him chained and dragged back to the city," Santilla replied. Despite the sarcasm in her voice, De Gavat ignored it entirely, saying, "That's right." Hammerhead's captain smiled slyly. "We could have left him in the wilderness to die, and buried him where no one could find him. You know, of course, as you know that silence is important in this matter. " "Would you do that? So kind?" "I am a warrior, madam, sworn to protect the Marquis," replied de Gava, with the same smile, "and I trust you to keep silent." Santilla just stared at him.Realizing that he couldn't get any other answer, De Gava nodded and walked out of the corridor. Santilla Xingyao closed the door and leaned against it.She rubbed her eyes and thought about this unusual night. "What are you doing, Erastus?" she asked herself silently. In the next room to Santilla, another person was asking himself the same question.Alchemist Nanfodo has been in Mirabar for many years, but he has always tried to avoid getting involved in local politics.He's just an alchemist, a scholar, a dwarf with a little talent for illusion, but that's all.This time involving the visit of the legendary King Bruno—Nanfordo himself wanted to pay his respects—the internal turmoil in the city took a lot of effort. He heard a loud knock on the door, and thought someone was knocking on his door, so he also got up to answer the door.By the time he got to the door he could already hear Santilla and De Galva talking.He also realized that this person was coming for her, not him. Nanfuduo didn't miss a word.Torg Hammerer, one of the most respected dwarves in Mirabar, a dwarf whose family has served the marquis for hundreds of years, was attacked and secretly dragged back to the city halfway, and was also chained. A chill ran up Nanford's spine.From the moment he knew that Bruenor Warhammer was knocking on the gate of the city, all kinds of things came one after another, making him dizzy. He knew it wouldn't have a positive effect. Even though the dwarf had long ago decided to stay politically neutral and just do experiments for a bounty, he showed up at a friend's mansion the next morning. Councilor Aglanth Heavyhammer wasn't thrilled at the dwarf's discovery.not at all. "I know." Early the next morning, Santilla told Agranthe as soon as she opened the door. The dwarf came straight to the consul's residence as soon as he finished his meeting with Nanfudo. "what do you know?" "Know what you know, about the treatment and return of a visibly disgruntled dwarf. Torg was dragged back to the city by the Hammerhead escort last night." "At least one of the Hammerhead guards." "De Gaval, curse his name!" said Agranther. The dwarf's wrath on De Galva shocked Santilla, who had never heard Agranthor comment on a member of the Hammerhead's Guard. "Erastu Laurum is the one who makes the decisions, not any of De Galva or the Hammerhead Guard," she reminded. Agranther knocked against the doorpost. "He's blowing flames into a room full of dry coal," said the dwarf. Santilla could not object.She understood Agranther's frustration and fear, but she also had to admit that it was a reluctant decision for Erastu to agree to Togg's departure.Agranthor knew as much about Mirabar's military strength as anyone else, as well as the distribution and production capacity of the mineral veins.The Archons do not honestly believe that war will break out between Mithral Hall and Mirabar, but if it does... "I believe that Erastus felt that he had no choice," Santilla replied, "at least he didn't abandon the dwarf's body to the wilderness." This statement did not have the effect Santilla hoped.Instead of calming Agranther, it caused the dwarf's eyes to widen and his jaws to close at the dreadful possibility mentioned.But he still calmed down and took a deep breath steadily. "It would have been wiser for him to do that," he murmured, and it was Santilla's turn to open his eyes. "When the dwarves of Mirabar learned that Torg was a prisoner of their city, they would not gather To celebrate together - they'll find out, no doubt." "Do you know where they kept him?" "I thought you were going to tell me about it." Santilla shrugged. "It's time for us to talk to Erastus." Santilla Xingyao fully agrees, although she knows better than Alanthe that this meeting obviously won't have any effect on resolving the current turmoil.In Erastu's eyes, Togg Hammer clearly committed a crime of treason, even treason against the city.Santilla suspected that the time would be far off for the unfortunate dwarf to see the world outside the prison. Nevertheless, she accompanied Agranther to the Marquis's palace, and the two were immediately led into Erastus' chamber. Santilla noticed that usually the guards and waiters in the room did not appear, except for the four Hammerhead guards standing in the fixed position behind the Marquis.She also noticed the way De Garvay looked at her, reminding her of discomfort, making her want to wrap her mage robes tighter. "What's urgent?" the Marquis asked immediately without saying hello, "I have a lot of things to do today." "The urgent matter is that you put Torg Hammer into prison, Marquis." Agranther answered frankly. "I didn't abuse him," Erastu said, adding, "As long as he doesn't resist." That's when he noticed Santilla's suspicious expression. "I beg and expect to deal with this matter alone," the Marquis continued, clearly addressing Santilla. "She didn't tell me that," said Aglanther. "Who is that?" "It does not matter," said the Dwarf, "if you mean to hurt the man who tells it, you might as well keep your fingers from sweating." Erastus seemed not at all pleased to hear this, and frowned at De Garva, who merely shrugged his shoulders. "The important thing, Marquis," said Agranther, "is that Torgue is no longer a citizen." "Torg is not a citizen at all," Erastus corrected him, "no more, it is his own will. I am responsible for the defense of Mirabar, so I have taken measures that lead to this result. He in prison, and to remain there until he blatantly relinquishes his claim on the matter and puts his ridiculous trip to Mithril Hall behind him." Agranther tried to speak, but Erastus stopped him. "There is no need for debate, Senator." Agranther turned to Santilla for support, but she shrugged and shook her head. That's it.Erastu saw Mithril Hall as an enemy, and every step he took seemed to confirm the transformation of his perception into reality. Both Agranther and Santilla hoped that Erastu would fully understand the implications of this latest operation, and both dreaded the reaction of the crowd to the knowledge of Torgue's imprisonment. At that moment, to Santilla, the dwarf's remark about throwing flames into the coal dust seemed quite penetrating.