Chapter 39 Why Are You the Ones We Meet Again?
Darien was slow to look towards the door.
Miss White Stork carefully extinguished the torch. They were not combatants, so they first looked at what was on the other side and whether they could avoid it directly.
They were now at the very end of the brewing area, which was quite large and blocked by tall clay vats, so they might not be discovered.
A fire was faintly lit up on the far opposite side.
The ceiling here is very high and there are relatively few things. As long as you walk into this space and speak, the empty space will echo.
"Oh. Where did we fall? We can't get out after walking for a long time." said a familiar voice.
"You idiot, I'm hungry. Remember to bring food next time! Wait, I seem to smell food, there is bread, there are sausages..." Another voice also seemed familiar.
Darien held the sandwich and thought for a moment, isn't this Kenneth and Jenny Piggy? How did they get here?
Seville also heard it, but they didn't make a sound. What if it was some kind of monster that disturbed the senses? If they made a sound, it would attract the other party.
Miss White Stork was holding a torch. This crystal torch, which had a brass base and was engraved with runes, was very hard and could be used to chop open the enemy's head when necessary.
Kenneth and Jenny the pig walked closer and closer, and finally, the sound of footsteps was so close that they could just walk around the row of vats and look at each other face to face.
"Kenneth, I seem to smell a familiar smell. It seems to be the smell of bread made by Mrs. Fitch! I can't be wrong!" said Jenny Pig.
"I heard that some relics can cause hallucinations. Why don't I smell any? Have you been poisoned?" Kenneth's voice was a little horrified.
"I'm not a human. You didn't smell it because you're not a pig. Alas, you're such a stupid human." Jenny Pig sighed.
Kenneth didn't smell it because as they approached, Sewell quietly put all the food back into the picnic basket, and Darien wrapped the half sandwich in his hand back into the handkerchief.
The lingering smell in the air was quietly dispelled by the wind driven by Darien, but Jenny Piglet, who was sensitive to smells, still caught a little bit of it.
Darien felt that if this was an illusion, then it was a little too real.
Finally, Kenneth and Jenny Pig turned a corner, and the simple torch in Kenneth's hand illuminated each other's figures.
“Ah ...——die——”
“Ah ...
Miss White Stork swung the torch at Kenneth, and Kenneth grabbed Jenny and ran away.
"Darian, are you you? Help me, don't hit me! I'm a good person!" Kenneth ran around the vat and yelled.
"Do you know each other? Did we see the same thing? I actually heard him calling your name?" Miss White Stork shouted as she chased, and the torch in her hand accidentally broke several large jars.
Kenneth ran faster.
"What's your sister's name?" Darien asked.
"Mary Beth Lorenz!" Kenneth replied quickly.
"What is your dream?" Darien asked again.
"To become the King of Thieves, of course!" Kenneth shouted.
"Has your wanted warrant been revoked?" Darien continued to ask.
Kenneth hesitated this time.
"It seems fake, beat him." Darien shouted towards Miss White Stork.
"Ahhh, I'm serious! Isn't that enough? I stole some things from Mosley Manor and my name is on the wanted poster again. I clearly covered my face carefully!" Kenneth yelled.
"He talked to everyone during the day, and then things were stolen at night. Who else can I suspect if not him?" Jenny Pig sighed, holding her face.
"Ms. White Stork, please stop. He is a real person," said Darien.
"You should have said it earlier. I'm almost exhausted." Miss White Stork shook her hands.
The long stretch of road they had just run over was littered with broken pottery, and Miss White Stork's torch had punched holes in the rows of large jars.
"Do you have food to eat? I'm so hungry." Jenny Pig started circling around the picnic basket as soon as she landed.
Sewell took out canned fish for her, and the other things he brought were pork products. It always felt strange to feed pork to pigs.
"What brought you here?" Darien opened his handkerchief and continued to eat his half sandwich.
"Here's what I did: I stole an egg-shaped ornament from Morris Manor. I discovered it could be pried open, and inside were maps. I guessed it must be a treasure map. I followed the map and walked to this area, but one day we slipped and couldn't climb back." Kenneth scratched his head.
"Why don't I have the same luck as you?" Miss White Stork looked at Kenneth with resentment.
"Maybe because you never steal anything," Darien said.
"You can help yourself to anything you want to eat, Mr. Kenneth," said Sewell.
"Thank you, I want to eat sausage. But why are you here?" Kenneth asked while holding half a sausage in his mouth.
"My purpose is the same as yours, treasure hunting, but I came here first, so Queen Roland's 20 gold coins belong to me." said Miss White Stork.
"Why do you want her 20 gold coins?" Kenneth said as he chewed sausage and pried open the can of fish.
Darien told him about the connection between the 20 gold coins and the treasure map.
"Oh, so that's how it is. Add me in too. I don't want the gold coins. I like adventure," said Kenneth.
"I want to go too." Jenny Pig raised her hand.
"You little thing, you want to go too? Aren't you afraid that a monster will eat you in one bite?" Miss White Stork pinched the soft flesh on her cheek, and feeling that it felt good, she pinched it twice more.
"Don't be afraid." Jenny Pig freed one hand and punched the wall, creating a crack in the stone wall.
"Did you break down the wall all the way in?" Darien thought for a moment and asked.
"How do you know?" Kenneth asked in surprise.
"I guessed." Darien replied.
The passages in the original Hallownest were either closed or half collapsed. If Kenneth had an accurate map, he would most likely be stuck halfway and unable to get in.
He asked Kenneth for the map he had, and then took the parchment map in Seville's hand to compare them. The map Kenneth got was not so detailed, and only roughly marked a few entrances and exits. It was extremely lucky that they could come here.
After finishing dinner, it was already 8:30 in the evening. There was less dust here than outside, and the place was open with only one entrance. We could just sweep up the broken pottery pieces and set up camp and rest there.
Although Miss White Stork's torch was bright, it was only the light of the light elemental stone and could not provide the warm and reassuring feeling of a real fire.
Before going to bed, Kenneth and Sevier went out to cut some vine roots and came back to build a fire.
"Don't you guys go out exploring with a tent?" Miss White Stork said to Kenneth.
"We don't go out exploring very often, so thieves won't appear in the wilderness." Jenny Pig said depressedly, holding her face.
"It was an accident." Kenneth lowered his head. "I had intended to just take a quick look."
"We can't help you. We only brought food and enough room for Sewell and I to sleep." Darien expressed deep sympathy.
"I'll just sleep on the floor." Kenneth untied his cloak and spread it on the ground.
"Come sleep with me." Miss White Stork picked up Jenny Pig.
She didn't bring a tent either, but she did have a thick sleeping mat and quilt that could fit her and Jenny Piglet.
In comparison, Kenneth, sleeping on the cloak, looked a little pitiful.
Sewell searched in the picnic basket and gave him a whole picnic blanket that was spread out so that he could have something to cover himself with.
Darien let the vines grow to a suitable height, then separated them to make a support for Sewell to place the bird's nest securely on.
sleep.
After drinking the transformation potion, he skillfully crawled into the bird's nest, found a comfortable place to stay, and asked Sewell to tell him a bedtime story outside.
Miss White Stork regretted that she was too big in size. It would be better for her to sleep in a bird's nest with a bed and quilt. Otherwise, when she went out to do business in the future, she would just turn into a bird and fly across the continent.
Kenneth sat cross-legged on his cloak, and Sewell told him that he would give him the book as a pillow after he finished his bedtime story.
"A long time ago, there was a fairy who lived in a rose bud." Sewell turned the page of the book.
No one closed their eyes, listening quietly to the development of the story.
"Unlike many other fairies, it has no wings."
"Then how can it get home if it can't fly? The fairy is small and the flower bud is tall." asked Jenny Pig.
Darien cooed twice; he wanted to ask the same question.
Although it has no wings, the fairy can rely on its own hands and legs to climb back to its home.
Suddenly one day, an evil magician stole the wings of all the fairies, and all the fairies lost their magic to fly.
“What should we do? We can’t fly anymore, and we’ve never walked before,” a fairy said dejectedly.
It doesn't matter! I will stop the evil wizard! The little fairy who originally had no wings stood up.
So the brave fairy set out, carrying everyone's hopes and blessings, as well as a sword made of rose thorns.
It went through many hardships along the way, met a frog friend in the swamp, was given a ride by a kind dragonfly, and even listened to a firefly concert in the dark night...
Finally, it came to the evil wizard's back garden.
"A high fence surrounded the fairy, but the brave fairy climbed up along the vine. There were many pebbles and many flowers here. Nothing could stop it. It finally came to the magician's windowsill." said Sewell.
The magician stirred the cauldron and was about to put all the fairy wings in it.
Stop! Give us back our wings! The fairy drew her sword and pointed it at the evil wizard.
Snap——
The evil wizard's wife slapped the evil wizard against the wall.
What a scary woman! The fairy trembled.
But it still rushed forward bravely.
"Don't be afraid, I'll teach him a lesson. Please take me to your home, and I'll use magic to restore your wings," the woman said gently.
Trust her! Trust her! The flowers in the garden that had guided it said in unison.
So the fairy and the gentle woman who was carrying the evil magician returned to the fairy home.
The woman cast a spell and returned all the wings to the fairies. Except for the fairy who originally had no wings, everyone was able to fly again.
The evil wizard was severely beaten by his wife. Not only did he promise not to study strange magic prescriptions anymore, but he also came here every day to water and fertilize the fairy's rose houses.
"Do you want to have a pair of wings too? She can help it. The woman said to the fairy. The fairy shook her head and said that it was fine without wings. It liked itself the way it was. From then on, the fairy without wings lived happily every day as usual." Seville closed the storybook.
Darien had fallen asleep, and before falling asleep he was drowsily thinking how the evil wizard sounded so much like Hawkins, the only difference was that he didn't have a wife who could beat him up and stop him from researching strange formulas.
The next morning, everyone woke up from their sleep.
After having a quick breakfast, they headed towards Queen Roland's bedroom.
Hallownest is a circular honeycomb structure from bottom to top. They are currently on the lower floors. The Queen's bedroom is above, as her status suggests. They need to find the stairs to go up.
Kenneth's map was useless at this time. Following Seville, they walked for a while and found the stairs leading upwards.
These stairs were obviously not designed for humans. Each step was very high, and adult men like Darien and Sevier had to lift their legs as high as possible to climb up.
A short little girl like Jenny Pig could only use her hands to support herself up. After she climbed a few steps, Kenneth simply stopped her from climbing and carried her up the stairs on his back.
"I can't do it anymore. Flying is faster than walking." Miss White Stork quickly turned into a bird, put the bag on herself, spread her wings and reached the end of the stairs.
Flying up does save time. Darien gave everyone a bottle of transformation potion. After drinking a sip, they turned into birds and flew up.
As for the large items they carry with them, we will fly two more times to pick them up.
The stairs were high and long, and it took them a long time to finally stand in the nursing area of Hallownest.
Those young, undifferentiated bees are placed here and raised with pollen, honey and royal jelly.
"I want to go in and take a look." said Miss White Stork.
No one objected, so Jenny Piggy pushed the door open.
This is the most central location of Hallownest, so it has rarely been invaded by outsiders.
After the tall stone door was pushed open, they did not go in immediately, but let the air fill in first to prevent them from fainting due to the thin air when they walked in.
Kenneth lit his torch and went in first, and if the torch went out they were to retreat immediately.
Unlike all the rooms they had searched, the nursery area of Hallownest was constructed from large blocks of beeswax.
After so many years, the beeswax that reached the ceiling had already turned black, and the hollows were filled with the shriveled corpses of young bees.
The smell here is not bad, just the clogging smell of insufficient air. The beeswax and the corpses of young bees have dried into fragile flakes and are almost non-existent in terms of smell.
"They are so small, as small as human babies, and they haven't had time to grow armor yet," said Miss White Stork.
She was not afraid of bugs, which are part of most birds' diets, and she carefully observed the corpses of young bees around her.
Those near the door are relatively young and in the form of pupae. The further inside you go, the more fully developed the young bees become, with armor growing on their bodies and their bodies developing the shape of limbs.
"Do they have human form? They all seem to be in the shape of wasps, the kind that are tall and thin and sting people very painfully." Kenneth took a few glances and couldn't help rubbing his arms with goose bumps.
"They look like this. They don't have human forms, but they can speak the common language of the continent and walk upright. The queen bee looks closer to humans, but only the outline of the lower half of her face is similar. She doesn't have the mouthparts of a bee, but her body is the same as a bee." Darian answered his question.
"Then they must be natural born killers. They must be very difficult to defeat," said Kenneth.
“But the swarms are gone,” Sewell said.
"This is a very unpleasant story," said Miss White Stork.
As they went deeper, the larvae in the center of the nursery area became more fully developed, and the holes made of beeswax appeared less discolored.
Some beeswax looks a perfectly normal yellow color.
Darien frowned, feeling that something was wrong here.
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