Chapter 37 Adventure Feeding Birds
"I want to sleep." Darien looked surprised that she had never seen such a thing before.
"Are you a birdman? You don't look like one. I don't feel any sympathy for you at all." Miss White Stork looked him up and down.
However, the black-clad servant behind him was obviously a crow.
"I also provide various transformation services here. Are you interested in learning more?" Darien was not angry, but took out the potion bottle.
"Can I turn into a griffin?" Miss White Stork touched her chin.
"Yes, one bottle of medicine can last for about three days, and one sip can last for 10 hours." Darian has conducted experiments on many people, and a huge amount of data supports this result.
"How much is a bottle? I want it." asked Miss White Stork.
"A bottle costs 20 gold coins, and it's free this time," said Darien.
"Really? This is not like you." Miss White Stork did not reach out to take it, but looked at Mr. Wizard with suspicion.
Is it possible that Mr. Mage was replaced in his own tower? She knew too well what kind of stingy person the other party was.
Of course he wasn't so kind. Didn't he get a free meal of food yesterday? Besides, he would be equally generous to generous guests.
"You don't have to." Darien pretended to take it back.
"Then give it to me. I still need it." Miss White Stork took it and stuffed it into her bottomless pit backpack.
They made simple preparations to go out, and Miss White Stork led the way out of the Plantagenet Gate.
Outside the door was a waterfall of vines that blocked out the sun. Darien looked up and saw stone walls all around him clung to by vines. Only a small round dot of light at the very top indicated that it was daytime.
They were in a cylinder that was a little too deep, with gravel and tenacious weeds under their feet. It seemed that the only way out was upward.
It's not difficult for one person to catch two birds.
"Are we going straight underground?" Miss White Stork poked the half stone door behind her.
There was earth beneath the stone gate, and the gorse gate was closed.
"Most of Hallownest is built underground. Sewell, give me the map." Darien extended his hand towards Sewell.
A roll of yellowed parchment was unfolded, and the small black dots quickly arranged themselves, forming a new map.
Darien lifted the map a little, holding it up to the light. The little owl was marked in a round hole.
In addition to the overhead, there is a small passage to leave here.
"Let's try the passage behind." He turned around and tried to walk up on the uneven gravel and dirt behind.
The steep slope was difficult to walk on. Darien took two steps forward and half a step back. Fortunately, the slope was not too long.
Dense green vines completely covered the passage. The wizard used a little magic and the vines immediately moved on their own, automatically splitting into two sides like curtains being drawn.
"Sevier, come and look at the map. I'm going to follow you." Darien gave the map to Sevier.
"Do you know where Queen Roland's gold coins are? Which direction are we heading now?" Miss White Stork looked vigilantly at the black hole in front of her.
"I have met Queen Roland several times. She likes to lock everything in the treasure house of the hive. That place is right below the queen's bedroom. We can try to look for it there." Darien said.
"How do you know? Did you sneak into her bedroom, or did she invite you in?" Miss White Stork asked casually.
Seville immediately pricked up his ears and listened carefully.
"Because of business, I added many defensive arrays to the entrance of her treasure house, reinforced the walls of Hallownest, and sold many light elemental crystals... She was a very generous customer, and I will always miss her." Darien said.
"We go straight ahead, then turn left, then right... We must pass through the outer city first. The map shows a gap that can save us some distance." Seville did not continue the previous topic.
Over 400 years have passed since Darion last visited this place. The Queen Bee and her hive have been reduced to ash, destroyed in a war. Hallownest locked the invaders in a tight circle, leaving no survivors.
No one knew what this huge Holy Nest had become after being transformed by time, so they had to be extremely careful when walking on the roads here.
Seville walked in front holding the map, and Miss White Stork followed behind. She held a fireless torch inlaid with a large piece of light elemental stone, illuminating the entire passage as brightly as day.
As Darien walked, he looked at the walls, as well as the rotting bones and weapon fragments scattered around.
The walls bore signs of violent destruction, and some of the bone fragments resembled those of humans, while others had spikes extending from the spine.
"It looks so tragic." Miss White Stork couldn't help but sigh.
"They are the bee guards guarding the Holy Nest, born to protect this place. Almost no one remembers Queen Roland and her bee colony anymore. Viola, you are the first person to mention Queen Roland again in all these years." Darien also sighed softly.
Viola is Miss White Stork's name, but she prefers to use the nickname Miss White Stork.
"I'm just more interested in legends about all kinds of treasures. Most of them have brought me huge profits. I heard that Hallownest was very prosperous during Queen Roland's time. The caravans that were specially allowed to enter brought gold and gems here and took away mead and royal jelly." Miss White Stork's eyes were full of longing for that prosperous era.
"Is there anything special about the mead and royal jelly here?" asked Sewell.
"The mead brewed by the bee colony has the magical effect of dispelling curses and restoring vitality, and the royal jelly that nourishes the queen can prolong youth. Of course, this is just a rumor I heard. It has been hundreds of years, and only those who tasted these flavors at the time can know about it," said Miss White Stork.
"The legend is a bit exaggerated, but it does have some effect." Darien nodded.
He had been a guest in the banquet hall of Hallownest and tasted mead. The golden liquid with a sweet taste could soothe the mind. Although it could not heal wounds directly, it could speed up healing and relieve pain.
They whispered about bits and pieces of Hallownest while slowly going deeper from the edge. The passages here were high and wide, and they felt like little people who had strayed into the land of giants.
"How long will it take us to get there?" Miss White Stork's feet were sore from walking.
"We're still in the outer city. It's full of winding passages and rooms and trading areas for outsiders. We've been circling along the edge," said Sewell.
"They built such a long and complicated passage. Merchants will definitely be confused when they come in to do business. It's really not friendly to merchants." Miss White Stork complained.
"But the profits are enough to offset the inconvenience here. I heard that a bottle of mead produced in Hallownest sells for 10 gold coins, and those merchants only need to spend 1 gold coin to purchase it from here, so the profit is very considerable." Darien said.
"There are not many good times like this. I also want to be able to sell it at such a high price." Miss White Stork sighed repeatedly.
Darien didn't respond this time because his potions were so profitable and sold in large quantities.
A few hours later, they finally entered the inner city of Hallownest.
Unlike all cities where humans live, the tribe led by the queen bee lives a life with orderly division of labor, and the urban areas here are divided according to function.
The outer city is not for living but a defense patrol area for bee guards. The edge of the inner city they came to is the living area for worker bees and bee guards. The rooms here are divided into small grids, just like the holes in a beehive, which house the bee colonies.
Further inside, there are storage areas and production areas. The center is the queen's court meeting, the queen's bedroom and the feeding area of the entire bee colony are also here.
Miss White Stork stuck her torch of light in the crack of the wall, and the light enveloped her head, dispelling the fear of the unknown.
"I can't take it anymore. I really need to take a break. I feel like I've walked the distance I would have walked in half a year today." She pulled out a piece of rag and threw it on the ground, then sat down with her butt.
"About time, time for lunch." Darien took out Seville's pocket watch and took a look.
"Is there anything to eat? I wish for fish." Miss White Stork put her hands together and made a wishing gesture.
"Your wish has come true. I found a fish fillet sandwich with pickles and garlic and a little mustard." Darien tossed over a paper bag.
"Thank you for the gift, Mr. Wizard." Miss White Stork took it, opened the paper package and started to eat it immediately.
"I don't want to eat fish now. Is there anything else?" Darien found two fish sandwiches in a row. He wanted to eat something else.
"There are beef sandwiches and peanut butter sandwiches." Sewell found two more flavors for him.
"Peanut butter sandwich," Darien said.
Sewell put the sandwich in his hand and took out a small chair for him to sit on and eat.
"Why did you bring chairs? Do you have any more? I want one too." Miss White Stork said while holding the food in her cheek.
She was given a small stool.
Although the environment here is not very good, surrounded by plant roots and broken bricks, at least the food is delicious and you can sit here for a while to relax and rest your legs.
Darien slowly ate his sweet peanut butter sandwich. He felt very thirsty. He had lost a lot of water during the walk and was in urgent need of water.
The light from the torch allowed Sewell to see his dry lips, and without him saying a word, a water bag filled with mint water was handed to him.
Darien had some peanut butter on his hand and didn't want to raise his hand to take it. He raised his head and signaled Sevier to feed him.
Like a little bird with its mouth wide open but unable to chirp.
The cool mint water was poured in, and a little sugar should have been added to it. It tasted sweet and made the mouth less thirsty.
With no one to feed her, Miss White Stork could only drink water by herself, sighing inwardly.
She sighed and shook her head: "What a life of extravagance and debauchery."
Darien ignored her.
"Would you like some more?" Sewell stopped.
Darien raised his eyes to look at him and licked his lips: "More."
Sewell stared at him without moving his eyes, and the red in his pupils seemed to be sticky and black.
The hand that fed him water was not as steady as before. A few drops of mint water dripped down his chin and landed on his collar, wetting a small area.
Darien had no hands now, so he simply poked Sewell's calf with the tip of his shoe to signal him to look.
"I'm sorry, master." Sewell put the water bag aside and took out a handkerchief to wipe him clean.
Darien frowned, "What's wrong with you?"
Sewell lowered his eyes and pressed the pads of his fingers under the handkerchief from his lips to his chin and finally to his collar.
Mr. Crow didn't answer, and Mr. Wizard felt a little inexplicably angry, so he kicked his calf with the tip of his shoe.
"What are you doing? Weren't you having a great time drinking just now?" Miss White Stork finished a fish sandwich and wanted to touch another one, but when she looked up, she realized that the atmosphere was wrong.
"He's clumsy." Darien snorted.
He still felt unsatisfied, so he stepped on Mr. Crow's shoes again.
"Oh, I don't mind. Do you want to follow me in the future? I also want to be served." Miss White Stork said with a smile.
"Get out. Don't poach my employees again. If you mention it again, I'll roast you like a bird." Darien glared at her fiercely.
"Wow, that's so fierce." Miss White Stork pretended to be very scared and touched two more fish sandwiches in her hand.
"Miss White Stork, my master and I signed a 1,000-year contract. I cannot leave without permission before the contract ends." Seville said with an apologetic tone.
"No one asked you." Darien kicked again.
The corners of Seville's mouth rose slightly and then calmed down.
Miss White Stork felt like something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
After eating, no one wanted to move. No one seemed to be in a hurry in this treasure hunt, especially Miss White Stork. She was not afraid at all that someone would get ahead of her.
The location of Hallownest had long since disappeared from the continental map. One of the important reasons she came to find Darion was that the Plantagenet Gate could take guests anywhere they wanted to go.
After dinner, they rested for about half an hour before setting off again, heading towards Queen Roland's bedroom.
They are still in the inner city. Compared with the outer city, it is much narrower. There are no particularly open squares, but symmetrical rooms distributed on both sides of the corridor.
Out of curiosity, Darien pushed two of them open and took a look. Although the things inside were almost rotten, he could still vaguely see that the layout of the two rooms was exactly the same, like a pair of inseparable twin sisters.
"The map says this is the room where the worker bees live," said Sewell.
It seems they have entered a real "beehive".
Since time was not so tight, Miss White Stork simply searched the nearby rooms to see if she could find anything good inside.
Darien and Seville followed her. She was her employer and had the most say in this expedition.
There was nothing interesting in the worker bee's room. Miss White Stork pushed several of them open, but found only dust, rotten wood, and some messy bones inside, and nothing valuable.
She sighed and decided to walk out of the area and touch somewhere else.
"Turn left and you'll find Hallownest's storage room. Should we go there?" Sewell asked.
"It's been more than 400 years, so everything inside must have rotted away by now," said Darien.
"That's not necessarily true. I heard that Queen Roland's favorite royal jelly is a concentrated energy liquid that exists in energy form. Maybe it hasn't evaporated yet." Miss White Stork shook her head. "I think we should go and take a look."
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