Chapter 3 Chapter 1 Entry

"I really hate this place," said Robilla, the robed mage, to Deudermont, captain of the Sea Sprite, as the three-masted schooner rounded a long headland(?) This brought Luskan's northern harbor into view. Deudermont, a tall, dignified man, with the discipline and calm demeanor of a lord, merely nodded at his magician's announcement.The captain had heard this a long time ago, and many times.He looked over the city's skyline and noticed the distinctive structure of the Sorcerer's Tower, Luskan's famous wizarding guild.That, Deudermont knew, was the source of Robillard's contemptuous attitude toward the harbor, though comments such as "idiots" were used quite loosely in the mage's rough explanation of Sorcerer's Tower, thinking they were too incompetent to tell The realm of master magicians and charlatans.But Deudermont still suspected that Robila said this because he was once refused to recognize his qualifications by the Mage Association.

"Why Luskan?" the ship's mage grumbled. "Isn't Waterdeep a better place to go? There won't be any port in the entire Sword Coast with a better shipyard than Waterdeep. gone." "Luskan is closer," Deudermont reminded him. "It's just an extra two days' journey," retorted Robilla. "If there is a storm in these two days, the previously damaged hull may split in two, and then all of us will become food for fish and shrimp." The captain said, "It looks like it was caused by a person A foolish gamble on the back of my pride."

Robillard began to answer, but he caught the meaning of the captain's last words and knew that by doing so he would only be embarrassing himself more.A furrowed brow cast shadows on his face. "If I hadn't fired a perfect fireball just in time, the pirates would have caught us," the mage muttered softly after he took a moment to calm down. Deudermont reluctantly made a concession to this.In fact Robillard did his job flawlessly during the last pirate raid.A few years ago, the Sea Spirit—the newer, larger, faster, and stronger Sea Spirit—was commissioned by the lords of Waterdeep to hunt down pirates.So far no ship has been able to accomplish this task so successfully, so when the lookout found a pair of pirate ships sailing in the northern waters of the Sword Coast, so close to Luskan, and it is also a place where the Sea Sprite often patrols. At the time, Deudermont could hardly believe it.After all, the famous name of this three-masted schooner alone has made this sea area calm for several months.

This group of pirates did not come to carry out simple robbery of merchant ships, they came for revenge. For this battle, they were all armed to the teeth, each equipped with a small crossbow, and a team composed of archers and Two mages.Nevertheless, they found themselves being tricked by the highly skilled Deudermont and his experienced crew, and in addition to being constantly exposed to the magical attacks of the mighty Robilla, who had already used The spell killed more than ten enemies.One of Robilar's meditations made the Sea Sprite look as if it was dead, with her broken mast lying across the deck and dozens of dead bodies hanging from the rails on both sides.Like a pack of hungry wolves, those pirates immediately gathered around, getting closer and closer, and then boarded the deck, one group at the port side and one group at the starboard side, wanting to give the injured ship a thorough understanding.

In fact, the Sea Sprite wasn't that badly damaged at all, because Robilar had taken into account the nasty magic attack that might come from the mage.As for the small crossbows of those pirates, they didn't have the slightest impact on the proud armor of the sailing ship. In an instant, Deudermont's powerful archers began to shoot arrows at the approaching enemy ships, and the Sea Spirit broke away from the battle at full speed under precise and effective control. When she rushed through the gaping pirates, her ship's capital jumped from the water. up. Robila immediately threw a silence spell on the pirate ship to prevent the mages from casting any defensive spells, and then "boomed" three fireballs—Long!Long!Long! —In rapid succession, one shot hit each of the two ships, and another shot exploded between the two ships.Then, as usual, Sea Sprite's gunners fired catapults and crossbows at the enemy ships in succession with clouds of pitch, intensifying the fire and causing more damage.

With their masts snapped and power lost, the two flaming pirate ships sank immediately.The fire was so large that Deudermont and his sailors did what they could to lift the few survivors from the icy waters. However, the Sea Spirit did not escape the fate of being injured.She is sailing with all her strength now.Even more dangerous, there was an obvious crack above her waterline.Deudermont had to ensure that almost one-third of the crew was busy with drainage work, which was why he sailed to the nearest port, Luskan. In fact, Deudermont thought it was a good choice.The reason why he chose Luskan instead of Waterdeep City, which has a larger port, is because his funds come from southern cities, and he can also have a dinner at any lord's house in the city. Casual crew, Luskan is also a more popular place, people here don't pay attention to status, politeness, and don't have the kind of conceit that nobles only have at the dinner table.Like Waterdeep City, Luskan also has its detailed hierarchical system, but the life of the people at the bottom of Luskan society is better than that of Waterdeep City.

There were welcome and greetings from every pier as they approached the city, where the Sea Spirit was very famous and respected.Honest fishermen and traders in Luskan, even from the northern regions of the Sword Coast, have long wanted to thank Captain Deudermont and his frigate for their work. "As I said, it's a good choice," said the captain. "Waterdeep has better food, better women, and better entertainment," Robilla replied. "But there is no better mage." Deudermont couldn't help but said, "Obviously, the wizard's tower should be the most respected by mages in the entire forgotten continent."

Robilla sighed, and walked away, muttering curses. Deudermont didn't turn to watch him go, but he couldn't help hearing the characteristic heavy thud of the mage's stiff boots. "Just going for a ride," the woman murmured, running a hand through her dirty blond hair and making a stern face. "It quickly takes the jitters out of me after an evening at the table." The tall savage licked his teeth with his tongue because his mouth felt like it was stuffed with gauze and dirty laundry.After working the evening at the Crooked Sword, he returned to the docks for another night of drinking with Morik.The two stayed there until dawn, as usual, and then Wulfgar half-walked and half-scrambled back to Crooked Sword, his home and place of employment, and lay flat on his bed.

But this woman, Delly Curty, the barmaid, Wulfgar's lover for the past few months, had come to him.Once, he'd seen her as a happy little thing, the icing on his whiskey cake, even his most caring friend.It was Delly who helped Wulfgar through the difficult early days of his life in Luskan.She saw what he needed, emotionally and physically, and she gave it to him, without questioning, without judging, without asking for anything in return.But then the relationship started to change and became less subtle.Now that he had made his new life so much more comfortable, that he could completely escape the painful memories of Errtu's years, Wulfgar began to see the difference in Delly Curty. past side.

Emotionally, she was a child, a little girl he needed.Wulfgar was in his early twenties, a few years older than her.Now all of a sudden, he was an adult in their relationship, and Delly's needs began to grow beyond his reach. "Oh, but I've been here ten minutes, my Wulfgar," she said, leaning closer, stroking his cheek with her hand. Wulfgar grabbed her wrist, and gently but firmly pulled her hand away. "It's been a long night," he replied, "and I wanted more rest before I started working on Ellen." "But I'd love to—" "More rest," Wulfgar repeated, emphasizing each word.

Delly got up and left his side, her seductive pouting expression suddenly turned very cold. "So that's what you want," she said roughly, "do you think you're the only man who wants to share my bed?" Wulfgar made no answer to the growl.The only answer he could give was to show her that he didn't care about anything about it—his drinking, his fighting—that was nothing but a way of hiding himself.In fact, Wulfgar did like and respect Delly, and considered her a friend - or intended to, if he sincerely believed he would be her friend.He didn't want to hurt him. Delly stood in Wulfgar's room, beginning to worry uncertainly.Suddenly, a change in her eyes could be clearly felt, she crossed her arms across her chest and ran up the corridor to her own room, closing the door with a loud bang. Wulfgar closed his eyes and shook his head.He let out a sad, helpless laugh as the door to Delly's room opened again, followed by footsteps running down the corridor to the tavern door.Then, there was another bang, and Wulfgar knew that all this clamor was actually Delly making for her own benefit, she just wanted him to hear and know, and she ran out to find another A comfortable arm too. The Savage knew that she was a complex being, with more chaotic emotions than his, if possible.He wondered how the distance between the two of them had come.Their relationship started out so simple, so honest: two people who needed each other.But recently it has become more complicated, and that need has become emotionally supported.Delly needed Wulfgar to care about her, to protect her, to tell her how beautiful she was, but Wulfgar knew he didn't even care about himself, so he always stayed away.Delly needed Wulfgar to love her, and the barbarian had no love to give.For Wulfgar had only pain and hatred there, only the memory of the demon Errtu and the prison in the Abyss where he had been tortured for six years. Wulfgar sighed and rubbed his eyes to chase the sleep away, then reached for a wine bottle, but found it empty.With a growl of lost hope, he flung the bottle, sending it flying across the room and smashing against the walls.For a split second he imagined the bottle smashing into Delly Curty's face.The imaginary sight shocked Wulfgar, but didn't surprise him.He wondered vaguely if Delly had brought him for a purpose in the first place; perhaps the woman was not an innocent child but a huntress in plotting.Hadn't she been planning to use his emotional vulnerability to her advantage when she first walked up to him, to comfort him, thereby pulling him into a trap?Maybe to get him to marry her?Saving him so that he could one day help her out of this miserable situation as a barmaid of her own making? Wulfgar noticed that his knuckles were starting to turn white from clenching his hand so hard, and he stretched them straight, taking a few deep, steady breaths.With another sigh, and another lick of his tongue against his teeth, he unfolded his gigantic almost seven-foot body and rose to his feet.He found that these days, when he did this every afternoon, his muscles and bones almost always felt more sore.Wulfgar inspected his massive arms, and while they were still thicker and more muscular than almost any living human arm, he couldn't help noticing how loose those muscles were, as his skin It has also begun to hang from his burly and tall body because it is too slack. How different his life is now from his early days in Icewind Dale, when he spent his days working with Bruenor, his dwarven adoptive father, forging objects, lifting huge stones, or fighting with Drizzt , his comrade-in-arms, went out to hunt giants together, running and fighting all day long.Those times are more tense and exciting, and bear a greater physical burden, but that burden is only physical, not emotional.At that time, in that place, he felt no soreness. The shadow in his heart, the most painful sore, is the source of all pain. He tried his best to think back to the years that had passed, to working and fighting beside Bruenor and Drizzt, or the time when he spent a day walking down the frigid winds of the Cairne, the only mountain in Icewind Dale. Running on a steep and bitter slope, in order to catch up with Catti-brie... The mere thought of this woman stopped him from remembering, and he returned to cold, empty, and melancholy, and the figure of Errtu and his demonic minions inevitably entered his thoughts again.There had been a demon—a dreadful succubi—perfectly transformed into Catti-brie, and Errtu was sure Wulfgar's affections were so deep in the woman that the demon wanted him to think she was as much a victim as he was. Brought to this place to endure never-ending torment, to make Wulfgar think it was all because of him. Errtu brought the banshee in the guise of Catti-brie to Wulfgar's horrified eyes, then tore the woman to pieces and turned her into a feast of flesh and blood for himself. With his heavy panting, Wulfgar fought back his thoughts of Catti-brie, the real Catti-brie.He used to love her.Maybe he was the only woman he ever loved, but now he believed she had lost him forever.Although he could return to Ten-Towns in Icewind Dale and find her again, the connection between the two of them had been severely severed by Errtu's horrific scars and Wulfgar's own reaction to them. The long shadows coming in from the window told him that the day was drawing to a close and that his job as Alan Juddpike's bodyguard was about to begin.In fact he hadn't been lying when he had announced to Delly that he needed more rest, so he collapsed back on the bed and fell into a deep sleep. When Wulfgar stood in the crowded bar of the Cutlass Tavern, night had completely covered Luskan. "As we suspected, he's late again," said a thin man with blistered eyes, Josie Pardus, a tavern security guard and Ellen Juddpage guest. A good friend of mine, he said to the boss when they saw Wulfgar come in, "He's working less and less now, and he's running out of your drink." Alan Juddpage, a genial yet stern, always practical man, tried to give Josie his trademark answer—shut him up, but he couldn't refute Josie's point of view.Alan watched Wulfgar's fall with grief.Alan had regarded the barbarian as a friend when Wulfgar had first arrived in Luskan a few months earlier.Alan had initially shown an interest in the man simply because of Wulfgar's apparent physical strength—a formidable fighter like Wulfgar's admiration for a tavern on the chaotic docklands of this restless city. It is indeed a boon in terms of business.After his first real communication with this man, Allen knew that he felt for Wulfgar more deeply than any business opportunity, and that he really liked this man. And Josie would always remind Allen of potential flaws, reminding him that sooner or later, keeping such a bodyguard would be like throwing rice to the rats in the sewer. "Do you think the sun just went down?" Josy asked Wulfgar as he approached, yawning. Wulfgar stopped, and slowly turned his head to cast a deliberate glance at the diminutive man. "It's half the night," said Josy, his tone suddenly changing from accusatory to conversational, "but I've been watching the place for you, and I think I can take apart a pair of fighting guy." Wulfgar eyed the little man suspiciously. "You can't even break a glass," he said, before ending with a deeper yawn. Josy nodded slightly in fear, and just responded with a self-deprecating smile to the insult. "We have an agreement on your working hours." Allen said seriously. "And I understand your real needs," Wulfgar reminded him, "in your own words, my real duties come later in the night, for conflicts seldom begin earlier. You did set the time for my duties to begin at sunset, but you also explained that I wasn't really needed until later." "Fair enough," Allen replied with a nod, while a sigh came from Josie.Allen was concerned to see this big man he trusted had replaced Josie as his closest trained friend. "Things have changed," Allen continued, "you've gained a certain amount of fame, and you've got more enemies. And you've been wandering around so late every night, you... our enemies are already paying attention .I'm afraid you'll stagger in one night soon after all the guests have left to find us all murdered." Wulfgar made a look of disbelief on his face, and began to turn away, waving his hands in contempt. "Wulfgar," Alan's strong voice stopped him. The Savage turned away, frowning. "Three bottles were missing last night," Alan said calmly, a palpable concern noticeable in his tone. "You promised me to drink as much as I liked," Wulfgar replied. "Just to you," Allen emphasized, "not to your sneaky little friend." The eyes of all nearby were widened during this conversation, for few Luskan tavernkeepers spoke so boldly of the dangerous Morik the Rogue. Wulfgar stared down at Alan, shaking his head with a chuckle. "Good Alan," he began, "do you want to tell Morik you don't welcome him with your drink?" Alan narrowed his eyes, and Wulfgar looked away for a split second. Then Delly Curty came in, her eyes red with tears.Wulfgar looked at her, feeling a pang of guilt, but he would not admit it openly.He turned and went to his job: walked over and threatened a drunk who started yelling too loudly. "He was playing with her like a toy he picked up," Josie Pardus said to Allen. Allen sighed in disappointment.He already liked Wulfgar a lot, but the big man's increasingly disrespectful behavior every day was starting to wear down that liking.For the past two years, Delly has been like his daughter to Allen.If Wulfgar was just toying with her and not respecting her feelings, there would surely have been a face-to-face conversation between him and Ellen. Alan turned his attention from Delly to Wulfgar for a split second, only because he saw the big man lift the big-mouthed drunk by the throat, lift him to the door, and slap him unceremoniously. Tossed outside to the street. "That man isn't doing anything," complained Josie Pardus. "If he keeps doing it, you'll never have a customer." Allen just sighed. Sitting in the opposite corner of the tavern, there were three people watching the every move of this huge barbarian with interest. "No way," muttered one of them, a little bearded one, "it's such a small world." "I told you it was him," replied the man in the middle, "I will not forget this man when you were not on the Sea Sprite in those days, and I will not forget Wulfgar. Waterdeep sailed to Menon and back, and we fought pirates all the way." "He looks like a veteran who's been around pirates for a long time," said the third of them, Wieland Mason. "That's all true!" said the second man, "even though he's not as good as his partner. The guy you all know. A dark, small, handsome-looking guy, but he's actually more injured than he is." I've never seen anything faster when he used his knife—or two." "Drizzt Do'Urden?" asked the short man. "The big man traveled with that drow?" "Yeah," said the second man, who now had their full attention.Smiling through his mouth, he recalled the thrilling voyage with Wulfgar, Drizzt, and the drow's panther mate, who was now fully the center of the conversation. "What about Catti-brie?" Veran Mason asked. Like all the crew members in Deudermont, he had been deeply fascinated by the Sea Spirit two years ago when Katie and Drizzt joined the crew. Falling in love with this beautiful, capable woman.Drizzt, Catti-brie, and Guenhiffa sailed together on the ship for several months, how easy it was to sink the pirate's ship with those three! "Catti-brie joined us at Baldur's Gate to the south," the narrator explained, "and she was with a dwarf, Bruenor, Lord of Mithril Hall, and they drove a chariot full of flames. .I tell you I've never seen anything like that, that savage dwarf parked his car right on top of a pirate ship that was fighting us. He sank the damned ship whole , and when we got him out of the water he was still spitting and yelling to fight!" "Bah, you must be lying." The short crew member began the opposite. "No, I've heard the story," Verland Maison broke in, "from the Captain himself, and from Drizzt and Catti-brie." The short man was quiet.They sat down and continued to study Wulfgar's every move. "Are you sure it's him?" asked the first. "That fellow Wulfgar?" At the same time as he asked the question, Wulfgar took the Fang of Aegis from his back and leaned it against a wall. "Oh, that's what I saw, that's him," replied the second, "and I'll never forget him or his hammer. I tell you he could split a mast with it, and he could Hit a pirate in the eye with it from a long distance, left or right, you name it." Visible across the room at this point, Wulfgar was having a small argument with a customer.The Savage stretched out a strong hand to grab the guy's throat with ease, indeed very easily, and lifted him from the seat into the air.Then Wulfgar calmly walked straight across the tavern to the gate, and tossed the drunk out into the street. "The strongest man I ever saw," said the second seaman, and his two companions could not disagree.They drank their wine, looked a little longer before leaving the Cutlass, and then hurried back to inform their captain who they had seen. Rubbing his neatly trimmed beard with his fingers, Captain Deudermont mused, trying to make sense of the news that Veran Mason had just brought him.He thought very hard, for the news troubled him greatly.Drizzt and Catti-brie had told him a story of Wulfgar's death in those delightful years that had sailed with him earlier, chasing pirates along the Sword Coast.The story had made a deep impression on Deudermont, and a trip to Menon some years earlier had made him regard the savage as a friend. Wulfgar was dead, Drizzt and Catti-brie said, and Deudermont believed it.But now a trusted crew member of Deudermont told him that the savage was indeed alive and well at work on the cutlass, in the tavern that Deudermont frequented. These memories took Deudermont back to his first meeting with the barbarian and Drizzt at the Mermaid's Arm Tavern in Waterdeep.Savages at that time were avoiding a run-in with a notorious bum named Bongo.What great things the barbarian and his companions accomplished afterwards, first rescuing their halfling friends from the infamous pashars of Karinport, and then helping the Warhammers revive Mithril Hall.Against all this, the idea that Wulfgar was working as a bouncer in a seedy tavern in Luskan was simply absurd. Especially after Drizzt and Catti-brie got word that Wulfgar was dead. Deudermont recalled his last voyage with these two men, when the destination of the Sea Spirit was a small island far away overseas.There a blind seer told Drizzt a riddle about a friend he thought he had lost.The last time Deudermont saw Drizzt and Catti-brie leave was in an impossibly small inland lake, to which Sea Sprite had been inadvertently teleported. So Wulfgar might still be alive?Captain Deudermont felt that his vast knowledge obliged him to deny this impractical possibility. It looks like the captain still thinks his crew is mistaken.They had little experience with the barbarians of the North, and almost all of them were tall, strong, and blond.The Cutlass had hired a barbarian warrior as bodyguard, but that wasn't Wulfgar. He didn't think about it any further, because there were plenty of jobs and appointments in the homes and organizations of people in the city's higher social classes.But three days later at a family dinner in a noble home in Luskan, a conversation arose about the death of one of the city's most notorious villains. "It's a lot better without Woodbreaker (the villain's nickname - the translator)," one guest emphasized. "We have a lot less trouble in our city." "Just a villain," replied the other, "and he's not that bad." "Bah, he can stop a galloping horse head-on," insisted the first man, "I saw him do it!" "But he's no match for that new boy at Alan Juddpage's," interposed another, "when he fought with that boy, and our wood chipper ended up coming out with a pile of door pieces. The Cutlass Tavern flew out." Deudermont's ears perked up. "Yeah, that guy," agreed the first, "is stronger than anyone in the stories I've ever heard, and that hammer! That's the most beautiful weapon I've ever seen." The mention of the hammer almost made Deudermont choke, for he remembered the power of Aegis' Fang so well. "What's his name?" asked the captain. "Whose name?" "Ellen Juddpage's new boy." The two guests looked at each other and shrugged. "Worf—something, I think," said the first. When he left the nobleman's house two hours later, Captain Deudermont found that he did not want to go back to the Sea Spirit, but began to walk down the notorious Half Moon Street, the most chaotic area in Luskan. Home of the Cutlass Tavern.He walked into the tavern without hesitation, pulled up a chair and sat at the first vacant table.Deudermont spotted the big man before he sat down.There was no doubt that it was Wulfgar, son of Beornegar.The captain didn't know Wulfgar well, and hadn't seen him in years, but none of that was a problem.The unmistakable size, the smell of strength, and the striking blue eyes, these were the impressions that the man had left in his memory.Oh, he was much gaunter now, with an unkempt beard and dirty clothes, but he was Wulfgar. The big man met Deudermont's gaze for an instant, but there was no recognition of the captain in his eyes when the barbarian turned.Deudermont became even more concerned when he saw the exquisite warhammer, the Fang of Aegis, strapped to Wulfgar's broad back. "Do you want a drink or a fight?" Deudermont turned to see a young girl standing at his table with a plate in her hand. "Sorry?" "Looking for a fight?" the captain repeated dully, not quite understanding. "The way you stare at him," the young girl replied, gesturing to Wulfgar, "a lot of people have come here to fight. A lot of people have been carried away because of it. But if you're here to fight He fights, and that's all right, and it's all very well if you kill him in the street." "I didn't come to fight." Deudermont told her with certainty, "But, can you tell me his name?" The girl shook her head and snorted contemptuously, and said in a tone of frustration that Deudermont could not understand: "Wulfgar," she replied, "it would be better for us if he hadn't come here. ’ She walked away without further asking if he would like a drink. Deudermont didn't pay attention to her any more, but continued to stare at the big man.How did Wulfgar get here?Why is he not dead?And where was Drizzt, and Catti-brie? He sat there patiently, observing the place as time went by, until just before dawn, all the customers started to go out and it was just him and a little guy at the bar. "It's time to go," the tavernkeeper said to him.Before Deudermont could react to this or rise from his chair, the man's bodyguard started walking towards the table. Wulfgar stared down at the captain sitting there, as his bulk approached the table. "You can walk out, or fly out," he explained gruffly, "you choose." "You have traveled far enough to fight the pirates south of Baldur's Gate," the captain replied, "although I have doubts about the direction of your travels." Wulfgar tilted his head to study the man from a closer perspective.A look of recognition flashed across his bearded face, just a flash. "Have you forgotten our voyage to the south?" Deudermont reminded him. "The battle with the pirate Pinocchio, and the burning carriage?" Wulfgar's eyes widened. "How do you know these things?" "Know these things?" Deudermont replied aloud, feeling unbelievable. "Why, Wulfgar, you once went to Menon on my ship and back. Your friends, Drizzt and Catti-brie, did the same again not long ago. I sail with you, though they're sure you're dead!" The big man stepped back like he'd been slapped in the face.A mixture of emotions flashed across his clear blue eyes, everything from homesickness to disgust.It took him a while to recover from the shock. "You are mistaken, my good sir," his last reply surprised Deudermont, "about my name and my past. It is time for you to go." "But Wulfgar," Deudermont began to insist.However, when he jumped out of his astonishment, he found another man, who was small and dark, giving off an evil feeling. He was standing behind him, but he didn't hear any approaching footsteps Voice.Wulfgar looked at the smaller man, then gestured to Ellen.After a moment's hesitation, the tavernkeeper reached behind the bar and took out a bottle of wine, shaking it in the direction Morik could clearly see. "Go or fly?" Wulfgar asked Deudermont again.Deudermont was deeply struck by his utter emptiness, with no sense of coldness, sounding only of sheer insignificance, which told him that if he did not go at once, the man would travel faithfully to his promise, without hesitation. Throw him out of the tavern. “海灵号在港口至少还会停一个礼拜，”杜德蒙解释着，起身向大门走去，“不论是作为一个客人还是加入成为船员，你在那儿都是受欢迎的，因为我从没忘记过你。”他坚定地讲完话，在他迅速地走出酒馆时他承诺的声音仍然回响在身后。 “那是谁？”在杜德蒙已经消失于路斯坎黑暗的夜色中后莫里克问沃夫加。 “一个傻瓜，”这就是这个大个子全部的回答。他走到吧台那里干脆地给他自己拉出另一瓶酒。无礼地转动着他的视线凝视着艾伦和黛丽的同时，野蛮人跟着莫里克走了出去。 杜德蒙船长沿着长长的路向码头走去。路斯坎夜生活的光与影嘈杂地溅泼着他，从酒馆大开窗户中传出的肮脏的说话声、狗吠声、黑暗角落中秘密的低语声——但是杜德蒙对这些全然不闻，因为他完全沉浸在自己的思考之中。 那么沃夫加的确还活着，而且这个英雄般的人甚至活在比船长所能想象到的的还要糟糕的景况下。他是完全真心诚意地邀请野蛮人加入海灵号的，但从野蛮人的行为可以知道沃夫加绝对没有接受他的建议。 杜德蒙该怎么办？ 他想要帮助沃夫加，但是杜德蒙从以往通过经历种种麻烦而得出的丰富经验中懂得，你没法去帮一个认为自己根本不需要获得帮助的人。 “如果你要计划去参加一个晚宴，那么希望你能好心地通知我们你的行踪。”当船长靠近他的船时，传来了一声带着责备的问候。他抬头看见了罗毕拉和维兰·麦森正在船舷边上向下看着他。 “你不应该独自外出。”维兰·麦森责备道，但是杜德蒙只是挥挥手阻止了他继续发表意见。 罗毕拉皱着眉头表示他的担心。“我们最近这几年结下了多少仇敌？”法师非常严肃地问道，“有多少人付出大袋的金子只是为了买个得到你脑袋的机会？” “这就是我雇了个法师来监视自己的原因。”杜德蒙踏上船板，冷冷地回答着。 罗毕拉对这句话的荒谬性嗤之以鼻。“如果我连你在哪儿都不知道我该怎么监视你呢？” 杜德蒙停下脚步，当他凝视着他的法师时露出了一个大大的微笑使得脸都皱了起来：“如果你连用魔法确定我的位置都办不到，那么我还有什么希望确信你能找到那些想要我命的人呢？” “但是那是真的，船长，”就在罗毕拉的脸色因激动而猛地暗了下来时维兰·麦森插了进来，“有许多人会很高兴同没有防备的你在这些街上遭遇的。” “那么我外出时应该一个也不留地用瓶子装上我所有的船员？”杜德蒙问道，“只是因为害怕来自那些海盗的朋友们的报复？” “海灵号上还是要留几个的。”维兰·麦森辩解道。 “就算留得再少只要被海盗知道了也绝对会被当成目标的！”罗毕拉滔滔不绝地讲道，“我们的敌人不会去袭击一个次要的容易替换的海员的，因为那样做只会招致杜德蒙和深水城领主们的怒气，但是某个能干掉海灵号船长的机会却可能有价值得多。”法师深深地吸了口气，目不转睛地盯着船长说道，“你不应该独自外出。”他以坚定的语气结束了自己的话。 “我只是不得不去确认一下关于一个老朋友的消息。”杜德蒙解释道。 “那个叫沃夫加的？”有所理解的法师问道。 “我是这么认为的。”杜德蒙酸溜溜地回答着，他继续走上船踏板，经过这两个人回到他自己的岗位，没有再说一句话。 这个地方小而肮脏，甚至连名字都没有，那里聚集隐藏了路斯坎最坏最恶劣的一群不幸者。他们大部分都是海员，都是由于犯下了极其恶劣的大罪而被领主们或那些愤怒的家族所通缉着。任何一个来自有船入港的码头的大声延街而下的脚步声都使得他们害怕，以为那是来逮捕或者干掉自己的。因此他们像这样躲藏着，那些简陋的寓所就方便地搭在码头的附近。 莫里克作为一个盗贼对这些地方是了如指掌，因为当他还是个年轻的孩子时就在这些街道上为这里最为危险的组织充当着监视者从而开始了他现在的生涯。一般来说他是决不愿在回到这些隐蔽所的。在那些更文明一点的组织里，他被极度地尊敬、被重视、被惧怕，这种感觉大概是莫里克最喜欢地。但是在这儿，他只不过是一个恶棍，一个处在暗杀者巢穴中的小贼。 尽管如此，这个晚上他还是情不自禁地走进一个隐蔽所，原因就在于著名的海灵号船长居然屈尊出现同他的新朋友沃夫加进行了一番对话。 “多高？”克里普·沙基问道，他是莫里克面前坐在桌子后面的两个恶棍中的一个。克里普是一个独眼的老练水手，头发灰白，泛红的脸颊上长着参差不齐、脏兮兮的胡子。“吝啬的克里普”，他的主顾经常这样称呼他，因为他使用他那把生锈的匕首时速度很快但掏钱包时却很慢。克里普总是把钱拽得很紧，甚至都不愿为自己失去的那只眼睛买一个好些的眼罩。现在位于克里普用来包头的花色丝质大手帕最低那一角下方的那个黑洞洞的空洞正锐利地盯着莫里克。 “比我高一个半头，”莫里克回答道，“也许是两个。” 克里普扫了一眼他的海盗伙伴，确切地说是一个充满异国风味的人。这个人一头浓密的黑发，梳了一个顶髻，而他的脸上、脖子上、事实上可以看到全身每一块裸露的皮肤都有着纹身，因为他只围了一条虎皮，更接近一个全裸的人。之后就在克里普的视线转到别处时，莫里克的背脊传来一股战栗的感觉，因为尽管他不知道克里普这个伙伴到底属于什么种族，但是他以前便听说过这个“人”，提阿尼尼。这个海盗只有一半是人类，另一半则是曲兰人，一种罕见而且凶残的战斗种族。 “海灵号就在港口。”克里普对莫里克说道。盗贼点点头，因为他在来这里的路上看到了那艘三桅纵帆船。 “他下巴上蓄着短须。”莫里克补充道，他想尽其所能地给出一个完整的描述。 “他坐得直吗？”那个纹身的海盗问。 莫里克不明白地看着提阿尼尼。 “他是不是直直地坐在他的椅子上？”克里普将他的意思进一步阐明，同时身体摆了一个正确的模仿姿势。“看起来就像他把一块木板从屁股一直塞到喉咙？” 莫里克微笑着点点头：“坐得又挺又直。” 再次地，两个海贼互相交换了一下眼神。 “听起来像是杜德蒙，”克里普作出决定，“那只狗。我已经花了一大笔金子只为了让我的刀子割进这家伙的喉咙。他已经把我不少朋友送到海底去了，而且还使我们破费了相当多的钱。” 有纹身的海盗一边表示着同意一边把一个胀鼓鼓的钱袋放到桌子上。莫里克马上发现房间里所有的交谈都在突然间停止了，所有的眼睛都盯着他和他那两个得意的共事者。 “呀，莫里克，但愿你会喜欢这些目光。”克里普示意着那个钱袋说道，“好的，这些是属于你的，而我正在想如果是十倍于这个数目的钱的话，”克里普突然跳了起来，使得他的椅子在地板上猛地向后滑了出去，“你们说呢，伙计们？”他叫喊着，“谁愿意用海灵号杜德蒙的脑袋来换一个或者是十个金币？” 一片巨大的欢呼声响彻在这个老鼠窝一样的地方，其中有许多人都在诅咒杜德蒙和他那些捕杀海盗的船员。 莫里克几乎没有听到他们在说什么，他的注意力已全在这一袋金子上了。杜德蒙来看过沃夫加。这里每一个人，毫无疑问甚至有百倍于这个数目的人将会投入到以多得到几个金币为目标的行动中去。杜德蒙了解沃夫加而且信任他。一千个金币。那一万个呢？莫里克和沃夫加能够很容易地接近杜德蒙。莫里克那作为盗贼的、贪婪的念头搅动着所有的可能性。