Chapter 4 Chapter 3 The ultimate twist

"There's no goddamn cave!" Ivan yelled, and a low rumble from the unsteady snowdrift above reminded the dwarf that it would be better to be more careful. If Ivan didn't take it easy at this moment, he would know it a second later, because the furious Pikel rushed up and slapped him on the back of the head, causing his helmet to fall over his eyes.The yellow-bearded dwarf adjusted his helmet by an antler, then glared at his brother, but Pikel didn't flinch, just stood there wagging a finger in Ivan's face. "Be quiet, you two!" Cadderly scolded. "Ugh," replied Pikel, who seemed genuinely quite hurt.

Cadderly, already distracted, didn't notice the look.He continued to scan the ruined mountain, surprised that the opening—large enough to allow a dragon with fully spread wings to enter and exit—was gone. "Are you sure it's not just snow here?" Cadderly asked, and Ivan kicked his feet hard, causing a large cloud of snow to fall from above and cover him and Pikel. Pikel popped up first, snow falling from the brim of the sagging wide-brimmed hat he had borrowed from Cadderly, and when Ivan popped up, he was already waiting to give him another slap . "If you don't believe me, just go in and see for yourself!" Ivan growled, pointing at the messy pile of snow. "There are stones in there, real stones, I tell you! The magician's storm has sealed it tightly."

Cadderly put his hands behind his hips and took a deep breath.He recalled the storm Aballister had unleashed on Everglade, and the wizard believed Cadderly and his friends were still here.But it was impossible for Aballister to know that Cadderly had already charmed an unfriendly red dragon to assist him, and the distance to the Trinity Walled City had been shortened by tens of miles. Watching the devastation, the side of a mountain torn apart by berserk magic, Cadderly was thankful that Aballister had targeted the wrong target.Today, however, this offers little consolation to the young priest.Inside the mountain, an unguarded dragon vault awaited, a treasure that Cadderly needed to fulfill his plans for the library and the region as a whole.It was, however, the only main gate through which they could bring their treasure out in wagons before the next winter.

"Did you speak in full?" Cadderly asked Ivan. The yellow-bearded dwarf was about to answer with his usual loud voice, but stopped just in time to look at his brother (preparing to hit him with another blow), and then just gave a low growl.Ivan had drilled a hole in the snow wall for over an hour, pushing blindly in several places until the stone wall behind the snow curtain stopped him. "We detour," Cadderly said, "to the cave on the south face of the mountain, where we first entered." "It's a long way from that cave entrance to the Dragon's Vault," Ivan reminded him. "Narrow tunnels and even a long steep slope. I don't know how you're going to get the treasure out there!"

"I don't know either," Cadderly admitted. "I just know we need those treasures, and we'll find a way to get them out!" With that, the young priest walked off along the trail, looking for a way around the broad base of Yezhi Peak. "He sounds like a dwarf," Ivan whispered to Pikel. Pikel's subsequent "hee hee hee" brought another small avalanche, and this time it was Ivan's turn to slap him on the head. Early the next morning, the three arrived south of the mountains.The snow is slippery and melting, making climbing quite difficult.Ivan came all the way to the entrance of the cave (and was able to confirm that there was indeed a cave on this side of the mountain), but slipped and tripped, and rolled into a dwarf snowball, knocking Cadderly and Pikel down together like a bowling ball. He rolled to the foot of the mountain.

"Stupid priest!" the dwarf yelled at Cadderly, and the three of them separated with difficulty at the far foot of the mountain. "Can't you magically make us climb this stupid mountain?" Cadderly nodded reluctantly.Since they left Walled Trinity, he had tried his best to preserve his magical energy.Every day, he had to cast spells on himself and two of his companions against the cold, which he had hoped would cost him strength before returning to the library.Cadderly had never looked this tired before.The trials he faced, especially the two times he faced Aballister and the ancient red dragon Valent Nima, completely exhausted him, forcing him to enter the realm of magic that he didn't understand, and cast it all by willpower. This is magic that his ability is far inferior to.Now, young Cadderly was paying the price for those efforts.Even the relatively peaceful weeks of hibernating in the cave hadn't brought him back to life.He could still hear the song of Denir in his head, but whenever he tried to use powerful magic through it, his temples ached and his head felt as if it would burst.

Only Pertelope, his dear Pertelope, understood the obstacles Cadderly had to face as a priest chosen by the god of the arts.She had warned Cadderly of these side effects, but even Pertelope admitted that Cadderly had little choice, that the young priest faced an enemy she had never seen before. Cadderly closed his eyes and listened to the notes of Denir's song, the music he had been taught by his most sacred book of Universal Harmony.At first, he felt a deep peace, as if he had returned home after a long, difficult journey.The harmony of Denier's song played sweetly in his thoughts, leading him down the corridors of truth and understanding.Then he deliberately opened a door, turning in his mind a page of the holiest book, looking for a spell that would bring him and his two companions up the mountain.

Then his temples began to ache. Cadderly vaguely heard Ivan calling him, and he opened his eyes for a moment, just long enough to grab Pikel's hand and Ivan's beard, and Ivan, confused and suspicious, refused Cadderly's offer. Hold tight. Ivan's resistance quickly intensifies to a desperate level, as the three of them begin to melt, lose their substance, become shadows.The wind seemed to catch them and carry them precisely to the side of the mountain. Pikel was cheering loudly when Cadderly came out of his trance.Yiwen froze there for a while, and then began to feel and check himself, as if to make sure that every place he could touch had been recovered.

Cadderly sank down on the snow beside the small opening in the hill to calm himself, rubbing the sides of his head to try to ease the pain.This time the pain wasn't as bad as the last time he tried to cast a powerful spell.When he was still in the previous cave, he tried to make a spiritual connection with Headmaster Sobicus, trying to make sure that no invading force was heading north towards Trinity Walled City, but he failed.The pain wasn't as bad this time, Cadderly was thankful.If they do what they need to do quickly, and the weather stays stable, the three of them can be back at the Moezhi Library in two weeks.Cadderly figured that his greatest challenge yet awaited there, and that he would need the song of Denir to fight it.

"At least there aren't any stupid dragons waiting there this time," Ivan puffed, and moved toward the entrance. The last time Cadderly and the others had been to this location, there had been a cloud of fog covering the area, and all the snow near the cave entrance had melted.The air in the cave is still fairly warm today, but not nearly as oppressive and ominous as it was when Valentenimah was still alive. Pikel tried to push Ivan aside, but the yellow-bearded dwarf stuck stubbornly in place, revealing that he was more interested in the possibility of a dragon's hoard than he appeared. "I'll go in first." Ivan insisted. "You follow after twenty paces," he explained to Pikel. "That way I can call you, and you can call Cadderly."

Pikel nodded sharply in agreement, and Ivan started to walk towards the entrance of the cave.He thought about it for a moment, then took off the helmet and threw it to Cadderly. "Ivan!" cried the young priest, and as Ivan turned his head, the young priest threw him a short metal pipe. Ivan had seen the object before, it was one of Cadderly's many inventions, and Ivan knew how to use it.He lifted the lid that was tight at one end, letting a beam of light shoot forward.Inside the tube is a disc that has been enchanted with a powerful glow, while the tube itself is actually two layers of metal.The outer tube near the end cap can be turned against the screw plug to lengthen or shorten the tube, thereby narrowing or widening the beam. Ivan narrowed the beam now, because the tunnel was so narrow that the broad-shouldered dwarf often had to turn sideways to squeeze through, and so narrow that Pikel reluctantly returned Cadderly's wide-brimmed hat before entering. give him. Cadderly waited patiently for several minutes, lost in the impending confrontation with Headmaster Thobicks.He was glad to see Pikel reappear, trying to find the rope, and he knew that Ivan was now through the narrowest tunnel, to the vertical passage that would take him to the level of the Dragon Treasure. Twenty minutes later, both dwarves emerged from the hole, and Ivan shook his head. "Blocked," he announced. "I can go down to the big room at the bottom of the passage, but there's no way out from there. I figured I'd better try to get in through the front door." Cadderly sighed deeply. "I'll call my people," Ivan continued. "Of course, it will take them the next two seasons to come over from Fasha, and then we'll have to wait for the next winter sweep..." The dwarf talked on and on, but Cadderly's thoughts had drifted away.If the traditional method is used, it may take several years to take out the dragon treasure, and the delay will bring some unexpected obstacles.The news of Valentenema's death will spread quickly throughout the land, and most ethnic groups in this area, including good and evil races, know that this red dragon lives in Yezhi Peak.The death of a dragon, especially one that has guarded a fabled treasure for centuries, always attracts those who want to benefit from its death. Just like me, Cadderly thought, and giggled at the self-deprecating humor.Then he realized that Ivan had stopped talking, and looked up to find the two dwarves staring at him intently. "Don't worry, Ivan," Cadderly said. "You don't need to call your people here." "They'll take a little treasure and keep it for themselves," Ivan admitted. "For gods, they're probably going to build a fort right in that mountain, and we'll have a hard time even getting a piece of copper out of there!" Pikel started to laugh, but stopped, looking at Ivan seriously, as he realized his brother wasn't joking and was right. "I'll get us into the mountains, and when the time comes when we need to get the treasure out, we'll have plenty of help from Caladon," Cadderly assured them both. "but not now." The young priest stopped there, thinking that the dwarves need not know more.He knew that his next mission was to return to the library and straighten everything out from the spiritual direction.Then he can concentrate on the treasure, can come back to rest, and is ready to use magic to clear the way for the treasure hunter. "This place is important to you," Ivan commented.Cadderly watched the dwarf curiously, more curious about the tone he used than the words he said. "More important than it should be," Ivan continued. "You've always had money, especially since you helped that mad wizard write the spellbook, but you've never cared so much about money." "That hasn't changed," Cadderly replied. "Oh?" Pikel squealed, accurately reflecting Ivan's feelings.If Cadderly didn't care about money, why did they run into such a dangerous mountain, with their short legs freezing off? "I care about what this treasure can do for all of us," Cadderly continued. "Fortune," Ivan interjected, rubbing his strong hands together eagerly. Cadderly looked at him intently. "Do you remember that model I kept in the room?" the young priest asked, more on Pikel than Ivan, because Pikel liked that thing so much. "The one with the high wall and the windows on it, and the buttresses?" "Ooh!" Pikel yelled happily. "You want to rebuild the library," Ivan reasoned, and when Cadderly nodded, the dwarf spat into the freezing air. "If the damn thing ain't broken, what's the point of fixing it?" Ivan demanded. "I want to improve it," Cadderly corrected. "You yourself see the design merits of that model, with the soaring windows. The soaring windows, Ivan, make the library a place of light where books can actually be written and read." "Bah! You've never done architecture," Ivan protested. "I know that. You have no idea how large-scale the building you want to make is. You human can't live long enough to see your new... what did you say it was called?" "The Cathedral," Cadderly replied. "Humans don't live that long, and you won't even see the new cathedral half-built," Ivan continued. "A whole family of dwarves would take a hundred years..." "It's okay," Cadderly replied, interrupting Ivan's threats. "It doesn't matter if I can see it done, what matters is that I started the project. That's the price of faith, and that's the joy, Evan, you should understand." Evan fell silent.He had never heard such words from any human being, and he had known many human beings in his life.Dwarves and elves are the groups that imagine the future, and they have the foresight and wisdom to engrave their footprints for future generations.Most of these long-lived groups believe that humans are an impatient bunch who must see material gain almost immediately in order to maintain the drive or desire to do something trivial. "You've heard about Bruno Warmaul lately," Cadderly continued. "He has just reaffirmed the ownership of Mithril Halls in his father's name. Every source has indicated that they are actively working on expanding the halls, and that in this generation, those halls will be many times larger than before. Just Even the founders of that dwarf fortress could not have imagined such a magnificent building when they excavated the huge staircase of the later known underground city. Isn’t that true of every dwarf fortress? They start from a hole in the ground, It turned out to be the greatest excavation in all the kingdom, even if it took many generations—dwarven generations!—to complete." "Ooh!" Pikel squealed, the dwarf who didn't speak words was speaking well! "And so should my cathedral," Cadderly explained. "If I lay the first stone, then I begin a grand project, and it is the great macro that will accomplish it." Ivan looked at Pikel helplessly, but Pikel just shrugged.It was difficult for either dwarf to refute Cadderly's thoughts.In fact, when Evan digested and understood what the young priest said, he found that he respected Cadderly even more. This man has surpassed the original limitations of his own race, and really began to plan to do something very dwarven. matter. Ivan said the same to Cadderly, and Cadderly accepted the oblique compliment without a word of complaint. ※※※ Two Oghma priests approached the square stone mausoleum embedded in the steep rock face behind the Moezhi Library. "I say, they should take care of their own business," muttered a muscular young man nicknamed Rude Beldo, nicknamed for his prowess in wrestling and swearing.His companion, Curt, also nodded in agreement, for neither of them liked the red tape.Zirkan Rufo was a priest of the Denir sect, not the sect of Oghma, but because of his imprint, Dean Thobix decided that the priests of Oghma would prepare and bury the corpse.According to custom, Rufo's body was left for three days for mourning, and now it was time for the final preparations. Beldo groped around his huge belt loops until he found the long key that fit the heavy door.After working hard for a while, he finally unlocked and pulled the door open.A damp, musty, rotten smell hit the two of them.This was the only time the building had been opened to accommodate Rufo's body since Pertelope's death last fall. Curt lit and raised the lantern in his hand, but motioned for Beldo to lead in.The muscular priest obeyed, his stiff boots clattering noisily on the bare stone. The cellar was large, perhaps thirty feet square, supported on either side by massive columns spaced ten feet wide.There is only one window to the right of the door, which lets in a little sunlight, but the glass is dirty and set deep in the heavy stone walls, and the lighting is poor.A series of stone slabs lined the center of the room, only one was empty. On the stone slab between the two pillars furthest from the door, Zirkan Rufo's body was covered under a nondescript shroud. "Let's get this done," Beldo said, taking the package out of his back.His apparent nervousness did not reassure his smaller companion, who also expected Rough Beldo to protect him. The pair entered without bothering to close the door, nor did they notice the draft of an invisible creature flying in after them. "Maybe he's vomited enough blood, it won't take us long," Bello said with a half-serious sneer. Curt snickered at the cynical humor, too, knowing that jokes might be the only way to counteract his distaste for the task. High in one corner of the mausoleum, on the right-hand wall opposite the door, Druzil sat scratching his dog-shaped face, muttering curses under his breath.The imp had been trying to get in since Rufo's body had been put in, thinking he might at least find a way to get some of the Chaos Curse back from the body.There were too many priests around, including a leading priest of the Order of Oghma, so Druzil held back, thinking he could break in after the others had left.However, it found the door locked and the windows enchanted, and dared not enter. The imp knew human ritual and what the two men were up to now.They would drain the blood from the corpse and replace it with a foul-smelling preservation fluid.Druzil had overheard that Rufo couldn't hold a proper Denir or Oghma funeral, and the imp had hoped that the priests wouldn't waste their time on this pointless embalming.Druzil had considered swooping down and stabbing the two men with his poisonous tail, or bewitching them, burning their asses with a small lightning bolt of energy to drive them away.But these methods are too risky, so the little devil can only sit there and watch, cursing silently. For every drop of blood the priests spilled from Rufo's corpse, there was one less Tandor Chiro Mianche the Imp could get back. Beldo looked at his companion, took a deep breath, and held up the giant needle to show Curt. "I can't stand it," Curt admitted, turning past several flagstones and approaching another pair of pillars. Beldo laughed loudly, gaining confidence in his friend's weakness, and moved to the stone slab.He pushed the shroud away just a little, just enough for him to pull Rufo's left arm out, push back the black robe that Rufo had put on, and turn the arm over so the exposed wrist was facing up. "It might hurt a little," the muscular priest joked briskly at the corpse, prompting Curt to groan in disgust. On the far high lobes, Druzil bit his lower lip in frustration, watching the giant needles pierce Rufo's bare wrist.It is determined to steal the blood, every drop will be spared! Beldo aimed the needle at the vein on Rufo's slender wrist, adjusting the angle for a good stab.He took another deep breath, turned to look at Curt's back for support, and began to stab down. But at this moment, a cold and pale hand quickly circled around and lifted up, grabbing the needle and Beldo's hand with the strength that seemed to crush the bones. "What's going on?" stammered the muscular priest. Curt turned to see Beldoux crouched on the slate, two strong hands holding Rufo's thin forearm, and Rufo's claw-like fingers gripped his chin tightly.This is Rude Beldo, the strongest member of the strong Oghma priests.This is Rude Beldo, with two hundred and fifty pounds of strength, a man who can wrestle a black bear to stop him! However, Zirkan Rufo - Zirkan Rufo who should be dead! —and the thin arms twisted Beldo down onto the stone slab, as if his muscular body were no more than a wet towel.Then, in disbelief, Curt saw Rufo's hand go up and push back.The muscles in Beldo's strong arms were tensed to the limit, but they couldn't stop the thrust.His jaw was forced up and back--to Kurt's ears it sounded like the crackling of a tree falling in front of him--and suddenly the surprised Beldo fell back. Look at the world upside down. The strong hands of the Oghma priest let go of his thin, pale arms and clawed uncontrollably in the air.Rufo's fingers let go, and Beldo fell back on the ground. Curt almost forgot to breathe.He looked alternately at Beldo and the shrouded corpse, his vision blurred by a daze of terror as Rufo actually sat up slowly. The shroud fell, and the gaunt, pale dead man turned his eyes, glowing red with internal flames, to look at Curt. Druzil clapped his clawed hands happily, screamed, and flew toward the ground. Curt screamed and ran at full speed.After five strides, he was nearer to the sun, closer to possible redemption. Rufo waved a hand, and the heavy stone door slammed shut with a muffled sound like a death knell. The Oghma priest slammed the door with his full weight, but it was as if he was trying to move a mountain.He scratched at the door until his fingers bled.Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Rufo standing up, walking stiffly towards him. Curt kept yelling and ran to the window, but found he had no chance.He overtook it and fell, stepping back, looking at the corpse, calling for it to let him go, and for Oghma to be with him. Then the side wall hit his back, and there was nowhere for him to escape.Finally, Curt took a breath and remembered his identity.He took out his talisman, a silver scroll worn around his neck, and called out to the god Oghma. "Get lost!" Curt yelled at Rufo. "In the name of God Oghma, you evil undead monster, go back to where you belong!" But Rufo didn't flinch.He approached ten paces away, then nine paces.As it passed in front of the window, it staggered suddenly, as if it was being burned on its side.But the light was dim, and the monster walked past the window. Curt began chanting mantras frantically.Yet he felt strangely disconnected from his god, as though Rufo's mere presence had robbed and distorted the place.Still he continued to pray, calling upon his strength. He felt a stabbing pain in his lower back, and suddenly began to twitch, and the prayer was interrupted.He turned to see an imp with batlike wings snickering wickedly and flying away. "What the hell is this?" Curt exclaimed.Then Rufo arrives, the terrified man throwing the lantern at the monster. Rufo grabbed his wrist and swung the makeshift weapon away easily.Curt punched with the other hand, hitting Rufo hard on the cheek, knocking Rufo's head sideways. Rufo turned back to face him calmly.Kurt threw another punch, but Rufo hooked his arm under the man's arm, and his bony fingers went around Kurt's back, pulling at the man's hair from the other side of his head.Rufo pulled Curt's head sideways with surprising force, squeezing Curt's cheek against one of his shoulders, exposing the side of his neck. Curt thought Rufo was going to snap his neck off, like he did with Beldo, but then the Oghma priest realized that wasn't the case, because Rufo opened his mouth to reveal a pair of teeth that were longer than the rest of the teeth. Half-inch canines. With a look of extreme hunger on his face, Rufo bent his head, bit Curt's neck, and tore open the carotid artery.Curt kept screaming, but Rufo, who was soaking in warm blood, didn't seem to hear it. It was bliss for the monster, a hunger and thirst that he had never had before was satisfied.It was so sweet.It was...but Rufo's mouth started to burn.Sweet blood turned to acid. Rufo roared furiously and turned away, throwing the man away with one hand still hooked behind Curt's back.The poor man flew head first and hit the nearest post with his back.He slipped and fell to the ground and lay there motionless.He didn't feel anything in his lower body, but his chest felt like it was on fire, burning with the venom. "What did you do?" Zirkan Rufo demanded, looking up at the horn and the imp who sat there. A being from the Lower Realm of Terror, a druzil is generally unafraid of anything that comes before him in this world.Today, the imp is terrified, and for good reason, of the monster Zirkan Rufo has turned into. "I want to help you," Druzil explained. "Don't let him escape." "You polluted his blood!" Rufo roared. "His blood," the monster said more quietly and hungrily. "I need...I need blood." Rufo looked back at Curt, but the light of life had faded from the man's eyes. Rufo roared again, a horrible, unearthly voice. "There's more," Druzil assured. "There are more, not far away!" At this moment, a strange expression appeared on Rufo's face.It looked at its bare arms, raised in front of its face, as if for the first time realizing that something very unusual had happened to it. "Blood?" It was a question rather than a statement, and it looked at Druzil for help. Druzil found that the confusion on the dead Rufo's face was genuine, and the bulging eyes seemed to protrude further out of their sockets. "You don't understand what happened to you?" Druzil exclaimed excitedly. Rufo took a deep breath to steady himself, but then realized he wasn't breathing at all.Once again, its begging, questioning eyes fell on Druzil, and the imp seemed to know the answer. "You drank Tuando Chiro Mianche," the imp screamed. "'Supreme Deadly Horror', that is the ultimate chaos, so you become the most twisted of all human beings!" Rufo still didn't seem to understand. "The ultimate twist!" Druzil said again, as if explaining everything. "The rebellion of life itself!" "What are you talking about?" Rufo asked in horror, as Cot's blood spurted from its mouth. Druzil smiled wickedly. "You are immortal," it said, and Rufo, startled and confused, finally began to understand. "And you're a vampire."