Chapter 3 Chapter 2 parted ways

Pikel the dwarf, Ivan Stoneshoulders, and Fander the red-haired volbol giant, these three bearded companions sat on the side of the cave entrance and played games, throwing bones and placing bets while laughing to themselves.Ivan won the round, fifteen times in a row.Pikel grabbed a blue wide-brimmed hat with an orange feather on one side, and directly in front of it was the holy emblem of Denir with candles above the eyes, and then slammed the laughing Ivan on the head. Cadderly saw the movement and was about to protest.After all, it was his hat, just for Pikel's use, and Ivan also had the horns of a big buck on his helmet.The young priest changed his mind and kept silent, for he saw that the hat was undamaged, and also saw that Ivan had indeed deserved the blow.

After the capture of Walled Trinity, the friendship between Ivan, Pikel, and Vander grew stronger.Vander, who is twelve feet tall and weighs eight hundred pounds, even helped Pikel, a dwarf who wanted to be a druid, re-dyed his beard and hair green, and braided the unkempt hair down his back. .The only time things got more tense was when Vander wanted to paint Pikel's green dye on Ivan's flaxen hair.The square-shouldered, more serious stone-shouldered brother didn't like the idea at all. But they interacted extremely harmoniously, and the past few weeks have been very happy, save for the bad weather.The seven members, including Cadderly, Danica, Dorigen, and the elf girl Xuelin, originally planned to return to the Mengzhi Library directly after the victory in the Trinity Walled City.However, within a day of entering the mountain, winter hit with all its strength, and the road was blocked. Even Cadderly, who possessed priest spells, did not dare to force his way forward.To make matters worse, Cadderly fell ill, though he insisted he was just overworked.Cadderly, as a priest, was a conduit for the power of the god he served, and during the battle against Trinity Wall (and the weeks of conquest before that), so much energy flowed through the young man. Priest.

Danica knew Cadderly better than anyone, and she had no doubt that he was overworked, but she also knew that the young priest was also suffering emotionally.While at the Walled Trinity, Cadderly discovers the truth about his past and where he came from.He is forced to face what his biological father, Aballister, has become in the end. During the battle at Wall Trinity, Cadderly killed his father. Danica had faith that Cadderly would be able to overcome this trauma, in the depth of Cadderly's character.He was devoted to his God and his friends, and they were all by his side. Due to road blockage and Cadderly's illness, the group of companions diverted eastward, out of the mountains and foothills, to the pasture area north of Caladon.Even the lowlands were deeply covered in the snow that hadn't been seen in the Shining Plain for several decades.The friends found a cavern with many chambers that could serve as shelter, and using the survival skills of Danica, Vander, and the dwarves, coupled with Dorigen's magic, transformed the place into a Pretty nice place to stay.Cadderly helped whenever his strength allowed, but his job was to rest and regain strength.He knew, and Danica knew, that once they returned to the Moezhi Library, the young priest would face his toughest test yet.

After a few weeks, the snow began to recede.Compared with the menacing situation at the beginning, the winter is over early, and this group of companions can also start to think about how to go next.This brought mixed feelings to young Cadderly, a young priest who had risen extremely rapidly through the ranks of his order.He stood at the hole and looked out over the snow-white fields, so bright in the morning sun that they hurt his gray eyes.He feels guilty about his vulnerability because he believes he should go back to the library regardless of the snow or the trials he faced months ago, even if it means leaving his friends behind.Cadderly's fate awaited him in the library, but now, even though he felt strong again, heard the song of Denir singing in the background of his thoughts again, he wasn't sure he had the strength to face it. .

"I'm ready." A voice called from inside the cavern, over the constant clamor of Vander and his dwarf brothers.Cadderly turned and walked past the group, and Pikel let out a small "hee hee hee" knowing what was coming.The green-bearded dwarf gave Cadderly a slight nod to the brim of his sombrero, as if saluting a soldier about to go into battle. Cadderly walked past the dwarf with a glare, and approached a small stone, which Ivan, with his skillful hand, had fashioned into a stool.Danica stood behind the stool waiting for Cadderly, holding her beautiful short swords, one hilted in gold and carved in the shape of a tiger, the other in the shape of a silver dragon.To someone who didn't know Danica, these short swords, or any weapon at all, would look out of place in her deceptively delicate hands.She was barely five feet tall—and weighed less than a hundred pounds if she hadn't eaten in two days—with rich, golden-berry hair that cascaded over her shoulders, and eyes that were peculiarly almond-shaped, with slightly larger pupils. Light but saturated brown.If people who don't know her take a casual look, they will feel that Danica seems more like a concubine lover of a rich man in the south, a beautiful and delicate flower.

The young priest knew she wasn't what she looked like, as anyone who had been around Danica for a while.Those delicate hands that can crush rocks, that beautiful face that can crush a man's nose.Danica was a monk, a trained martial artist, and she had spent as much research as Cadderly, and she had as much respect for the wisdom of the ancient martial masters as Cadderly had for his gods. .She was the most perfect warrior Cadderly had ever seen, she could wield any weapon and beat most swordsmen with her fists alone.In addition, she can also shoot any magic short sword she is holding into the eyes of enemies twenty paces away.Cadderly sat down, looking away from the rowdy gamblers, while Danica began to chant softly.

Cadderly found a meditation focus, the most important of which he had to remain completely still.Suddenly, Danica begins to move, her arms swinging intricately in the air in front of her, her feet moving from side to side in perfect balance.The impossibly sharp dagger began to spin between her fingers. The first short sword came in front of him with a blinding ray of light, but Cadderly, who was deeply immersed in meditation, did not flinch.He barely felt the scratching sound of the blade brushing against his cheek, barely had time to smell the oil on the metal, and the silver dragon was already speeding up to his nose and brushing down on his upper lip.

It was a daily ritual they both performed, keeping Cadderly's mustache clean and Danica's sharp muscles in peak condition. The ceremony was over in a minute, Cadderly clean-shaven and not a single scratch on his tanned skin. "I should get this mess out too," Danica teased, grabbing a handful of Cadderly's thick, curly brown hair. Cadderly reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down onto his shoulders, bringing their faces very close.They were lovers, committed to each other for life, and the only reason they hadn't married in public was that Cadderly didn't think the priests of the Moezhi Library were qualified to perform the ceremony.

Cadderly kissed Danica lightly, and a blue spark exploded between them, stinging their lips and sending them both bouncing back.They all immediately turned to look at the entrance of the room on the left-hand wall of the cave, and what greeted them was the laughter of Dorigen and Xuelin. "It's really emotional," Dorigen said sarcastically.She was the one who got the blue sparks—the magician, of course.Dorigen was once the enemy of this group of companions, and she was also one of the leaders of the army that invaded Simista, but various signs showed that she had changed her mind and was willing to go back to the library with the others to face the trial.

"I've never seen a spark of love like this before," Xuelin added, shaking her head so that her long, thick blond hair fell over her face.Even if only a gleam of light filtered in through the cavern's eastern opening, the elf's violet eyes were as clear as jewels. "Should I include that in your charge?" Cadderly asked Dorigen. "If that was my worst sin, I wouldn't have taken the trouble to run back to the library with you, young priest," replied the magician lightly. Danica looked at Cadderly and Dorigen, and saw the emotional bond they had developed with each other.It wasn't hard for the monk to see where this feeling came from.Dorigen, with her grizzled black hair and wide-set eyes, looked like Pertelope, and the headmistress in the library looked like Cadderly's mother until her recent death.Only Pertelope seemed to understand the transformation that had befallen Cadderly, the song of God that sang in Cadderly's head, which allowed him to use a clergyman worthy of the highest priesthood in the land. strength.

Danica could see something equally insightful in Dorigen.This mage is a thoughtful character, someone who carefully assesses a situation before taking action, and is not afraid to follow his heart.At the Walled Trinity, Dorigen turned against Aballister and resolutely joined Cadderly's side, even though she knew that her crime would not be forgiven.She did it because her conscience dictated it. Weeks of being forced to winter together hadn't endeared Danica to liking or even liking the woman, but she respected the wizard and, to some extent, trusted Dorigen. "Well, you've been hinting for days," Dorigen said to Cadderly. "Should we be on our way?" Cadderly instinctively looked back at the door, and nodded. "The road south to Caladon should be passable," he replied. "Also, many trails leading to the mountains should have been cleared, and the snow has melted." Cadderly paused, and the others didn't understand why he considered mountain trails, so they looked at him intently, looking for clues. "Though I'm worried that the melting snow might cause some avalanches," the young priest finished. "I'm not afraid of an avalanche." The giant Fubao's voice boomed from the door. "I've lived in the mountains all my life, and I know exactly which mountain roads are safe and when." "You're not coming back to the library with us." Ivan interrupted, eyeing his giant friend suspiciously. "Woo," Pikel added, clearly not very happy about it. "I have my own home, my own family," Vander said.He, Ivan and Pikel had discussed the matter several times in recent weeks, but it was only now that Vander had made a decision. Evan obviously didn't readily agree with how things were going.He and Vander were friends, and saying goodbye was never easy.But the hard-nosed dwarf agreed with the Volbolt's decision, and he reassured, as before, that one day he would travel north to the Spine of the World to find Vander's Volbolt relatives and friends. "But why did you mention mountains?" Xuelin asked Cadderly bluntly. "With the exception of Vander, we didn't have to go into the mountains until we passed Calaton, and that was more than a week's walk." "We're going into the mountains sooner," Danica answered for Cadderly, thinking she had read the man's mind.She discovered that she was only half right. "Not all of them," Cadderly announced. "No need to do that." "Dragon's Treasure!" Yiwen roared suddenly, referring to the cave left by them, which was the place where the ancient dragon Valentenima lived.The friends took the ancient red dragon to the mountains, only to lose its treasure from guard. "You want to find the dragon's treasure!" The dwarf slapped his arched brother hard on the back. "A treasury without guards," Xuelin agreed. "But to bring out such a large amount of treasure will require the strength of all seven of us, or even more." "We're not even sure we'll find those treasures yet," Cadderly reminded them. "Aballister's storm against Everglade likely closed many caverns." "So you want to go back and see if the treasure can be unearthed," Danica reasoned. "We'll dig it out when the weather permits," Cadderly said. "So we don't need to all run back into the mountains." "What's your suggestion?" Danica asked, already knowing what Cadderly would say. "I'll go back to the mountains with Ivan and Pikel," answered the young priest, "if they agreed. I had hoped you would come too," he said to Vander. "I'll walk with you a little way," the red-bearded giant promised. "But I'm in a hurry..." Cadderly held up a hand begging him to say no more.He understood the feeling of the Fubao giant, and he would not ask Vander, because Vander had been away from home for too long, and had been tortured by the assassin "ghost" for too long, and there should be no extra delay. "However long you're with us, we're welcome," Cadderly insisted, and Vander nodded. Cadderly turned back to face the three women. "I know you have to go back to Simista," he said to Xuelin. "King Albereth will need your full report of what happened at Trinity Wall so he can disarm the elves. The fastest way for you to return is south past Caraton and west of the library Take the road that more people travel.” Xuelin nodded. "And I should go back with Dorigen," Danica reasoned. Cadderly nodded. "You don't belong to either of the two sects that preside over the library," he explained, "so Dorigen will be your prisoner, not at the disposal of the Patriarchs." "You don't trust them," Danica added wisely. Cadderly didn't bother to answer that. "If all goes well in the Everglades, the dwarves and I will arrive at the library within days of you." "But since I'm going back alone, Dorigen is still my prisoner," Danica reasoned, and then she smiled, though she didn't want to miss out on the Everglades adventure, and she didn't want to be separated from Cadderly at all. "I'm sure your sentence will be fairer," Cadderly said, winking at her. "Besides, it should be easier for me to persuade the patriarchs to accept your sentence than to ask them to pass a fair sentence themselves." Danica knew it was a sound plan, one that would keep Dorigen from the executioner's nose. Dorigen's smile showed that she, too, understood the merits of the plan. "Thank you again," she said. "I just wish I believed I was worthy of you." Cadderly and Danica exchanged a look of understanding, and neither of them dragged a prisoner to disperse the line without the slightest concern.Dorigen was a powerful wizard, and if she wanted to escape, she would have already done so.She has not been restrained in any way for the past few weeks, and she has only been guarded for the first few days.No prisoner was more cooperative than her, and Cadderly was confident that Dorigen would not escape.What's more, Cadderly believed, Dorigen would use her powers to assist Danica and Sherin if they encountered difficulties on their way back to the library. So it was decided, and no one objected.Ivan and Pikel rubbed their hands together and slapped each other on the back so often that they sounded like a gallery full of applause just after a brilliant performance.Nothing makes dwarves dance like being able to go to an unguarded dragon vault. Later that morning, when everyone else was busy preparing for the trip, Danica found Cadderly alone.The young priest hardly noticed her approaching, just stood on a small open rocky ground outside the cave, staring at the snow-flake mountains that stood upright. Danica leaned in and hooked her arms under Cadderly's, offering the support she thought he'd need.Her thought was that Cadderly wasn't ready to go back to the library.No doubt he was still reeling from the last incident with Headmaster Thobix, when he had forced the Headmaster's will to bend to his bidding.What's more, after so many events—the deaths of Avery and Pertelope, and the fact that the evil mage Aballister turned out to be Cadderly's real father—the young priest's world has been turned upside down. .For a long time, Cadderly had questioned his faith and the place he had considered home, and while he had finally come to terms with his devotion to the god Denir, Danica guessed it was still difficult for him to put the The Mengzhi library is regarded as one's own home. They were silent for several minutes, Cadderly gazing at the mountain and Danica gazing at Cadderly. "Are you afraid of being accused of heresy?" the monk asked slowly. Cadderly turned to look at her curiously. "Because of your actions towards Headmaster Thobex," Danica explained. "If he remembered the incident and understood what you did to him, he probably wouldn't welcome you back." "Thobex will not openly make me my enemy," Cadderly said. Danica noticed that he hadn't mentioned the man by title, which was no small matter in terms of sect and library rules. "Though he probably remembers much of our last conversation," the young priest continued. "I think he'll solidify his allies...and demote or fire those he suspects are loyal to me." Even if the inferences were not optimistic, there was not much worry in Cadderly's tone.Danica noticed this, and her expression showed her surprise. "What allies could he find?" Cadderly asked, as if that explained everything. "He's the leader of the cult," Danica replied, "and has many friends in the Cult of Oghma." Cadderly chuckled, scoffing at the idea. "I told you before that Thobicus was the leader of a false hierarchy." "And you're going to just walk in and make this statement?" "Yes." Cadderly replied calmly. "I have an ally whom Dean Thobicus cannot compete with, an ally who will turn the other clergymen of the denomination over to me." Danica didn't need to ask who that ally was.Cadderly believed that Denir himself was with him, that the god had entrusted him with a mission.Given the power the man possessed, Danica didn't doubt that claim.Danica still cared a little, though, that Cadderly's demeanor had grown so bold, even arrogant. "The Oghma priests will not intervene," Cadderly continued. "Because it's none of their business. The only time they would, and should, be in the running, is after I relieve Thobex of the Denirian leadership. Bron Terman will compete with me for the head of the house." “Terman was a leader of the library for many years,” Danica said. Cadderly nodded, not seeming to care at all about it. "He'll be a formidable competitor," Danica reasoned. "It doesn't matter which of us holds the post of Head of the House," Cadderly replied. "My first priority is to be responsible to the Denier sect. Once the sect is re-directed, the next thing I will worry about is the future of the Mengzhi Library." Danica accepted that argument, and they fell into another long silence, Cadderly gazing again at the majestic snowflake mountains.Danica believed him, and his reasoning, but it was hard to reconcile his seeming calm with the fact that people were standing here these days, lost in thought, and not in a library.Cadderly's delay revealed the real torment beneath the calm surface. "What were you thinking?" she asked, placing her hand lightly on the young priest's cheek, bringing his gaze back from the mountains. Cadderly smiled warmly, touched by her concern. "There, there's a treasure trove unmatched in the entire region, and it's unguarded," Cadderly said. "I never knew you cared so much about worldly wealth," Danica commented. Cadderly smiled again. "I was thinking of 'Anonymous,'" he said, referring to a poor leper he had once met on the road outside Cala Raton. "I'm thinking of Caladon and all the other 'Dogs' around Lake Impesk. The wealth contained in the Red Dragon Vault could do great good to the land." He looked directly at Danica. "Those treasures might give each of them a name." "It's not that simple," Danica said rationally, because they both knew that wealth also brought considerable power.If Cadderly was determined to distribute wealth to the poor, he would encounter resistance from some "moderate masses" in Carradon, who equated wealth with nobility and class, and used their wealth to feel superior to others. "God Denir is with me," Cadderly said quietly.In this moment Danica understands that her beloved is indeed ready to face this war, against Thobix and all the rest. ※※※ On the cold and wet ground outside the front door of the Moezhi Library, several priests desperately rescued Zirkan Rufo.They wrapped themselves in their cloaks against the chill of early spring, but they did not miss the brand on his forehead: an unlit candle in one closed eye.And even the Oghma priests understood what it meant, and knew they couldn't bring this man into the library. Rufo continued to choke and vomit.His chest heaved and his stomach convulsed and twisted into painful knots.Blue and black bruises popped under the surface of the man's sweaty skin. Some of the Oghma priests were powerful priests, and they performed healing magic, though the Denirians dared not call their gods to show their power in the name of this man. Magic doesn't seem to work. Headmaster Thobix arrived at the door with Bron Terman, pushing through the growing crowd of onlookers.The old Headmaster's eyes widened considerably when he saw Rufo lying outside. "We must take him into a warm place!" a priest tending him shouted to the dean. "He can't go into the library," insisted Bron Terman, "not with the brand. Zirkan Rufo was exiled for his actions, and the ban remains in effect!" "Bring him in," said Headmaster Thobix unexpectedly, and Terman nearly fainted with surprise when he realized the words.However, he did not publicly protest.Rufo belonged to Thobex's sect, not his own, and Thobex, as head of the house, did have the authority to allow the man in. A few minutes later, Rufo was led through the crowd, and Thobix followed the attending priests.Bron Terman had come to an uneasy conclusion, enough to explain what the dean said, but it made the Oghma priest uncomfortable.Zirkan Rufo was no friend of Cadderly's, in fact Cadderly was the one who had branded the man.Did that drive the dean's decision to let Rufo in? Bron Terman hopes that's not the case. In an empty side room usually reserved for private prayers, the priests dragged in a bench to use as a cot, and proceeded to soothe Rufo heroically.Nothing they did seemed to help, not even Thobex's attempts to conjure up his most powerful healing spells, chanting over Rufo while the others held him down, had no effect.However, perhaps the spell itself was not sanctioned by the gods, perhaps Rufo's disease was rejection of it, and the dean's spell was useless. Blood and bile gushed from Rufo's mouth and nose, his chest heaving in despair as he tried to suck in air through the obstruction in his throat.A strong Oghma priest grabbed Rufo, bent him hard into his stomach, and slapped him on the back, trying to force him to spit it all out. Suddenly, without warning, Rufo twitched and writhed so violently that the Oghma priest flew across the room.Then Rufo lay flat on the bench, eerily quiet, staring up at Dean Thobicus without blinking.He raised a weak hand to ask the headmaster to approach, and after looking around nervously, Thobix bent down and put his ear close to the man's mouth. "It was you...you invited...invite me," Rufo broke off, blood and bile gushing with each word. Sobix stood up straight and stared at the man, not understanding what he meant. "You invited me in," Rufo said clearly with the last of his strength.Then he started laughing, an eerie, uncontrollable laugh, and then the laughter turned into a huge spasm, followed by a final scream. No one present could remember seeing a person die in such a horrific way.