Chapter 4 Chapter 3 Sincerely

"You just sit there and wait for all our dreams - all the dreams that Goddess Talona gave you herself - to come to naught!" Second in the Trinity Walled City, the magician Dorigen Kay Ramon, sitting back in his chair, was a little surprised at his unusual outburst.Amber's eyes turned away from her mentor and boss, Aballister. The older, bony wizard seemed unfazed.He sat swaying in his comfortable chair, tapped his fingers as thin as dry branches in front of him, and a funny look appeared on his bony face. "Bubbles?" he asked after a moment of silence designed to make Dorigen uneasy. "It's partly true that Simista has—or is about to—fall back under the control of the elves again," he admitted. "But all reports show that their numbers are pitifully small. Less than a hundred elves are left alive to defend the forest."

"And we have lost more than a thousand soldiers," Dorigen snapped sharply, "and another thousand have escaped our command and returned to their caves on the mountain." "We'll recall them from there," Aballister reassured her, "when the time comes." Dorigen was indignant, but said nothing.She wiped a drop of sweat from her crooked nose, and looked away again.With two broken hands, the woman didn't feel safe in the same room as the unpredictable Aballister or the suddenly promoted Porg Reese; Aballister and that pet, Druzil.But she reminded herself that that was just one of the many problems of working with such a wicked person.She never knew when Aballister thought he didn't need her at all.

"We still have 3,000 troops on hand—mostly humans—for immediate command and deployment," Aballister continued. "Goblins will also be called up when we need—" Maybe wait until after winter, when the season is more suitable for aggressive actions.” "How many troops are we going to need?" he asked, speaking mainly to Pogue rather than Dorigen. "Now Themista is empty, and the Moezhi Library is decimated. All that's left is Caladon will deal with it." Aballister's voice clearly showed how he felt about this town of farmers and fishermen on the shore of Lake Impesk.

"I don't deny that there is damage to the Moezhi Library," Dorigen replied, "but we can't be sure how serious it is. Also, you seem to know the situation of Simista very well, but should I remind you, We suffered a big defeat not long ago?" "And do I have to remind you, too, that the defeat was at your command, not mine?" growled the older magician, his black eyes burning at Dorigen's gaze, "and, yes Dorigen escaped from the forest at a critical moment in the war?" Aballister saw her faltered, and sat back in his chair and swayed to comfort her.

"I sympathize with what happened to you," he said quietly. "It must have hit you hard to lose Tenek." Dorigen flinched.She had expected it to be brought up, but it was a shock to hear it.Tenek, a barbarian she captured in the North, was trained to be her bodyguard and to replace Aballister as her lover.Dorigen had no doubt that the older magician must have felt quite satisfied when he heard that the brave warrior had been slain.The one who killed Tenek was a woman who was almost two feet shorter than him and about one-third his weight.Dorigen knew that Druzil had deliberately downplayed the young woman's abilities when he reported his death, just to fan the flames between the two wizards.

Dorigen wanted so badly to win back, to yell at the old magician that he had no idea of ​​the young woman's power.That was Danica, accompanying one of Cadderly's monks; and Dorigen's other enemies in Simista were just as formidable.She looked over to Druzil, who, perched beside her, buried its dog-shaped face in its leather wings, making no attempt to support her. "Vile and cowardly thing!" Dorigen said angrily.Since returning to Trinity Walled City, Druzil has been avoiding contact with Dorigen.She knew it had no allegiance to Aballister, except that Aballister was the one in power now, and the cunning imp always favored the side that had the upper hand.

"Enough of the joking around," Aballister said suddenly, "some problems popped up that got in the way of our plans." "For example, your son." Dorigen couldn't help interjecting. The smile on Aballister's face suggested to Dorigen that she was fishing a bit too far. "My son," the wizard repeated, "dear little Cadderly. Yes, Dorigen, he is indeed a most unpredictable and serious problem. Don't you, little Pogue?" Doris looked to the youngest wizard in Trinity Wall, Porg Reese, whom she and her mentor used to call "Little Porg."

The young man frowned at the dismissive address, although he was not unaware that such a thing could happen.He was very different from the other two companions, and did not appreciate their jokes.He tossed his head, tossing the long rope of brown hair behind one ear and away from the side of his head that had been shaved. Dorigen had long since grown weary of Pogue's exaggerated behavior, and almost snarled at his ridiculous haircut. "Your son is certainly a problem," Pogue replied, "but what can we expect from the son of the great Aballister? If little Cadderly decides to play for the other side, then we Better keep an eye on him."

"Little Cadderly," Dorigen muttered, a look of disdain on her face. "Little Cadderly" was probably two or three years older than this new wizard! Aballister produced a small, bulging bag and shook it to let the other two know that the bulging was from money—presumably gold coins.Dorigen knew what the bag represented, what Aballister—and Pogue—was buying.Bogue was born in Ximen, a city located four hundred miles northeast of the mouth of the Lake of Dragons.Ximen is a well-known busy trading city, and is also famous for a local assassination group called "Mask of the Night", which has the most brutal killers in the kingdom.

"Even if it's your "Night Mask", it's not so easy to deal with that little scholar, whether he is in Simista or back to the Mengzhi Library." Duo Ruizhen said, and she did so, only In order to lessen the bitterness of Aballister's icy attitude towards his son.Even though she hated Cadderly - not only did he break her hand, he stole all the magic ingredients from her - Dorigen still couldn't believe Aballister's malice towards his own son . "He's not in Simista," replied Pogue with a grin, his brown eyes sparkling with excitement, "and not in the Moezhi Library." Dorigen stared at Pogue, her sudden interest clearly evident. It made the young magician very happy. "He's in Carraton."

"It's nothing more than organizing a garrison," Aballister added. "How do you know?" Dorigen asked Pogue. Pogue looked to Aballister, who shook the pouch of gold coins again.The clang of the coins sent a chill down Dorigen's spine.Pogue's connection with the Ximen assassination group, as well as the origin of his position in the Trinity Walled City, are all clearly revealed. Although her hands were still in great pain, Dorigen couldn't help feeling sad for the young scholar. "One problem at a time, Dorigen dear," said Aballister, who had brought up the idea before, when he had told Dorigen what he was going to do with his son.Again, the older magician shook the bag of gold coins, and again, a shiver ran up Dorigen's spine. ※※※ Abereth and Danica sat on top of Dionysus, a defensive terrain that the elves used as a base.On this starry night, only a few elves were still around, and there was no longer any need for a garrison of guards.In fact, according to Hamadin—and since Cadderly had forced her to help the elf a few weeks ago, the dryad's information from the trees had been correct—within ten miles of the ridge, there had been No trace of the monster. It was a peaceful night, not the sound of swords clashing or dying cries. "The wind is getting cooler," Aberez said, pulling off his travel coat and motioning for Danica to put it on.Danica did so, and lay down on the thick grass beside the elf, looking up at the countless stars and the black shadows of a few floating clouds. Abereth's chuckle made her sit up again.She followed the elf's gaze to the bottom of the steep hill.She squinted her eyes, and could just make out three vague figures—one elf, the other two undoubtedly dwarves—darting in and out of the woods. "Is it Xuelin?" Danica asked. Abeles nodded. "She's become friends with the dwarves over the past few weeks," he said. "Shereen admires their courage and appreciates their willingness to stay here and fight with us." "And would the king appreciate it?" Danica asked slyly. Abeles smiled a little at her playful sarcasm.He thought back to his first encounter with the dwarves, when he and Ivan had nearly fought.Now that seems like ages ago!Alberes was only a prince at the time, and he was quite disapproving of the way the then king, his father, acted when the forest was in crisis. "I'm not ungrateful," he replied softly, "I'll never forget what I owe my brothers dwarves—and you." His eyes locked with Danica's, silver eyes that couldn't even blink. He stared unblinkingly into the woman's bright brown eyes. Their faces were close, less than an inch apart. Danica clears her throat and looks away. "This war is coming to an end," she said, breaking the mood of the moment.Abeles knew immediately where her words would lead, since she had begun hinting at her future plans days before. "In the remaining days of this season, we will not be invaded by goblins." The elf king said firmly, "but I am afraid that when spring comes and the mountain roads are reopened, new attacks will appear again." "Hopefully, by then, both Caraton and the Moezhi Library will have enough military strength," Danica said. "Are you going to make this happen?" Danica turned her head and looked down at the grassy hillside, and the three figures were gradually approaching at this moment. "I never liked trees," they heard Ivan complain, rubbing his nose. "I thought the height of a dwarf should not be hit by low branches." Xuelin replied with a string of musical laughter. "Hee hee hee," Pikel added, wisely dodging a backhand from Ivan. "It's time for me, Ivan, and Pikel to leave," Danica said suddenly.She hated the words, but had to say them.Aberes' smile disappeared immediately, and he looked at the woman sharply for a long time without replying. "Maybe we should have gone back to the library with Avery and Rufo," Danica continued. "Or, maybe you should trust the people of the Library and Carradon to take care of things themselves," interjected Aberes. "You can stay, any three of you. You are always welcome, and I promise you , under the winter snow cover, Simista has a completely different beauty." "I'll take your word for it," Danica replied, "but I'm afraid I do have to go if—" "Cade is here." Aberes said, although he was very disappointed that the three friends would leave soon, but he still smiled. Danica didn't answer because she didn't even know what she was feeling.She looked back up the hillside, where Ivan and Pikel were still trying to get to the place Shailene had been waiting for.They were almost there by now, but Evan had apparently said something offensive to his brother again, as Pikel charged at him and the two scuffled on the ground again.The elf girl gave up and threw her hands to the sky, and she quickly approached Aberes and Danica. As soon as she was beside them, her smile was replaced by a look of wonder.After looking at Danica's face for a moment, she said knowingly, "You're leaving." Danica didn't answer, she could barely look into the elf girl's face. "When are you leaving?" Xuelin's tone was still calm and composed. "Soon—maybe tomorrow," Danica replied. Xuelin considered the bittersweet news for a long time.Danica left because of victory in the war, and the forest was safe again.She can come back free, or the elves can go to her without too much threat from goblins or orcs. "I agree with your choice." Xuelin said calmly.Danica turned her head to look at her, not expecting the elf's approval. "The war here is won, at least for now," the elven maiden continued, circling happily in the crisp night air. "You still have a lot of responsibilities, and, of course, you have to do research in the Moezhi Library." "I want to take Ivan with Pikel," Danica replied. "They have responsibilities in the library, too." Xuelin nodded and looked back at the hillside, where the brothers were trying to climb up the mountain for the third time.From Danica's vantage point, under the starry sky, she could see the genuine love in the elven maiden's violet eyes.Danica knew that Xuelin's seeming ease was because she believed Danica was right, not because she was happy that Danica and the dwarves would leave soon. "If the fighting starts again in the spring..." Xuelin began. "We'll be back," Danica assured her. "Where are you going?" Yiwen finally climbed to the top of the mountain.He shook his yellow beard to shake off the twigs and leaves that had gotten entangled in the two tumbles down the hill, and tucked it back into his belt. "Back to Simista." Xuelin explained. "If the war starts again." "Where are we going?" Ivan asked Danica. "Ooh," Pikel moaned, starting to get a little understanding of the situation. "The first cold of winter is coming," Danica replied, "and the road to the Snowflake Mountains will be impassable." "Ooh," Pikel said again. "You're right," Ivan replied after thinking for a while, "things are pretty much the same here—there's nothing to fight anymore. My brother and I will get bored pretty quickly; besides, since we left After all, those priests in the library probably never had a good meal!" Xuelin tapped on the side of Yiwen's head, and Yiwen looked back at her in disbelief, only to find that she was smiling detachedly.Even this rude and uneducated dwarf could see the pain hidden under the delicate face of the beautiful girl. "You still owe me a fight," Xuelin explained. Ivan snorted and cleared his throat, sneaking up his sleeves to wipe the moisture from his eyes as he wiped his nose with his clothes.Danica was surprised to see the dwarf's fragility beneath his tough exterior. "Hmph!" Ivan snarled, "What a fight? You're just like that other kid!" He shook his finger accusingly at Aberes, whom he had only fought a few weeks ago. It was a tie. "You'll just jump around, or just keep going around in circles until we're both exhausted!" "You think I'll spare you after insulting my people?" Xuelin growled, hands on her hips, walked over and stood directly above the dwarf looking down at him. "Wait for you to spare me? There's no way!" Yiwen retorted, poking Xuelin's abdomen with a short fat finger. "Hmph!" Ivan growled, and he turned and walked away. "Hmph!" said Xuelin, imitating him, but her voice was too pleasant to imitate the dwarf's rudeness. Yiwen ran back quickly, raised his eyebrows at her, and motioned for Pikel to leave with him. "Now, you have your treasure tree back, Elf." Ivan said to Aberes, "You're welcome!" "I say goodbye to you too, Evan Stoneshoulders," Abereth replied. "We thank you and your illustrious brother. If you pass here again, the gates of Simista will open for both of you. " Ivan grinned at Pikel, "He thought the Nashiraut gate could stop us!" he growled, and then he slapped Xuelin on the buttocks, and stepped away before she had time to react. Ran away. "I've got to go, too," Danica told Alberez. "I've got a lot of work to do before dawn." Aberes nodded, but the lump in his throat made him unable to speak.Danica ran down the hill to catch up with the dwarves, and Shaylin sat down beside the silver-eyed elf king. After a moment of silence, the elf girl said, "You love her." Aberez sat quietly for a moment, then admitted, "Love from the bottom of my heart." "And she loves Cadderly," Xuelin said. "Love from the bottom of my heart," Abeles replied gloomily. Xuelin managed to force a smile, trying to lift her friend's spirits. "I never thought that the elven king of Simista would fall in love with a human being!" Xuelin pretended to exaggerate and pushed Abeles' shoulder. The elf turned silver eyes to her and smiled wryly. "It never occurred to me that an elf girl would be attracted to a dwarf with a yellow beard," he replied. Xuelin's initial reaction was to laugh in disbelief, because she only thought of Ivan and Pikel as friends and trusted allies, and speculation beyond that was ridiculous.However, the elf girl remained silent for a while, looking at the now empty hillside. Without Brother Stoneshoulders, there is indeed an emptiness there.