Chapter 636 The Stone Wall and Castle Leading to the Mountain
After Guy vigorously promoted the quality and story of the fur coats that day, Tilan and his companions stayed here for another day. This was because the publicity was so effective, and later Guy wanted to leave a few more coats for Stone Forest Castle, but he was not allowed to do so.
"Didn't you say that it was a masterpiece of a master and was very rare? You can't just leave it there." The trade manager, who had been quite disdainful and bargaining before, immediately changed his face. He grabbed Guy's arm and talked almost non-stop for a whole day, finally forcing Guy to give in and said that he would only take a small part to Stone Forest Castle for trading, and the rest of the coats would be left at the 'Red Pomegranate' for exchange.
"That's right, don't worry, it doesn't matter if there are too many things. We will help you deliver them to the settlement on the grassland. It just so happens that I have to go out recently, so I will help you deliver the goods once."
The two discussed for a while, and finally the staff of the 'Red Pomegranate' settlement said that they would help Guy and his companions escort the exchanged items to the grassland, and then they reached an agreement.
"It's probably a little bit of a loss, but with them accompanying us on the way back, it will be much safer." Guy explained.
"Let's go, it's time to go to Stone Forest Castle." The two days of rest allowed the four people to recover, and the journey afterwards seemed brisk.
There was basically no need to worry about passing beasts attacking or robbers ambushing on the road. As they got closer and closer to Stone Forest Castle, the number of pedestrians and brigades on the road gradually increased, and then they gradually formed a loose line and moved forward together on the road.
The wheels rose and fell slightly with the gravel on the ground. Heshia leaned on the haystack and saw the long team behind. They were different in appearance. Some had curved horns on their heads, some had dark yellow skin, and some had recurved legs, but most of them were new races that looked similar to humans and could not be distinguished by much difference.
When the carriage climbed up a long hill again and walked down, the tall castle between the two mountains in the distance gradually came into view.
There was a little snow on the top of the mountain. The stone walls connected the two mountains and formed a solid mountain fortress. Smoke from cooking was curling up. From time to time, patrols could be seen on the walls. Along the stone walls, there was a curved stone road leading to the gate of the mountain fortress.
"Is the castle built here for safety?" Heshia asked Guy with a little curiosity.
"Yes, it's more hidden here. The sweeps of those war machines often don't pass through here."
"In addition, it is said that there is a tortuous and hidden passage in the city that leads to the lava underground in the mountains. With the help of the heat in it, the steam engine in the city keeps running, which brings a lot of vitality and allows the Stone Forest Mountain Fortress to produce some less complicated things. By the way, the mountain fortress is also the only stronghold in this land that can be illuminated by electric lights on a regular basis." Guy recalled the news he had heard in the past.
When he arrived at the foot of the mountain fortress, the team preparing to enter the city was lined up in a long line. The four of them were just a small part of it, and they could only move forward slowly.
"It will take about an hour to get in, but we can get off and walk now." Fran looked at the team in front and estimated.
"Do you want to go and take a look, Miss Heshia?"
"What to see?" Tilan was a little puzzled.
"Of course, these teams that are preparing to enter the city like us, maybe we can find something good." Fran pointed to the crowd of people chatting and trading in the queue.
"Well, wait a moment." Tilan thought for a while, put Ores, who was still taking a nap in her arms, on the haystack and covered her with a thin blanket, then jumped out of the car and walked towards Fran.
The two of them walked along the dewy mountain road. At this time, many travelers also leaned on the roadside to chat and rest, and some even took out small stoves to cook something to eat.
"It smells good, it seems like they are roasting something over there." Fran walked over following the smell.
Soon, the two came to a cart. There should be a family of four here. The man had short and thick spiral horns, and the woman was a little short. There were two children beside them. They were dark-skinned and dressed in simple and rough animal cloth. They were drooling at the slowly roasting things on the stove.
"This should be some kind of potato plant." Fran looked at the roasted gray and black skin and commented.
"Can you give me one, my friend?" He said directly.
Hearing such a request, the man was very unhappy at first, but after turning around and seeing the two people's dress, he endured a little. After all, those who were dressed so well were not ordinary people.
"If you want to eat, you need to exchange something." He said in a muffled voice.
"I understand this. I have a small bag of flower tea here, which can be used to make water." Fran took out a small paper bag from his pocket, which contained several kinds of dried leaves and dried flowers.
"What's the use of this thing?" The man frowned and waved his hand.
"Don't you need it?" Fran didn't mind. After taking it back, he changed his pocket and took out another paper bag.
"Here is a small amount of herbal medicine that is quite effective for external injuries. It is made by mixing Amaranth and Mouse Whisker Flower powder. Take a look." The other party took it half-heartedly and sniffed it.
Although he was still a little skeptical, this small package was much more valuable than the black and gray potatoes that were being roasted.
He put it away, picked out one of the medium and large ones, and threw it to Fran.
"Here."
"Thank you." It was a little hot after he caught it. Fran tossed it back and forth for a while before tearing it open a little, revealing the light yellow steaming flesh inside.
"This taste..." He licked it with his tongue, tasted it carefully, and thought about it.
Smelling the fragrance coming from not far away, Tilan was also curious about what it tasted like, but she would not ask Fran for it, just wanted to hear what he thought of it.
Eating the unknown roasted ground potatoes, the two continued to walk along the mountain road. After leaving a distance, Fran spoke.
"This thing is poisonous." He looked at the remaining half of the black and gray ground potato in his hand and commented.
"Is it poisonous?"
"Yes, although the dosage is very weak, it's not a big deal if you take it once, but if you take too much, it will be bad." He looked at the half in his hand with some regret, and then threw it far away.
"I understand why the moose boss has to work hard to dig soil from the ground to grow wheat. Many plants on this land cannot be eaten."
"Just now I used the secret method taught by the teacher to measure the ingredients, and I felt a little bitter on my tongue. This is not a good sign. If you eat too much, your body will be numb and your reaction will be slow. And children..." He looked back at the two children who were wolfing down their food around the stove.
"If you eat too much, your intelligence will decline." He sighed.
Hearing this, Tilan suddenly remembered the settlements along the way, so she asked, "Have you also inspected the places before, such as Lake Wind and Red Pomegranate?"
"Of course, I am an outstanding member of the Slami Association. When investigating local customs and habits, I naturally have to record their food and lifestyle." Fran trembled his eyebrows and said with a little complacency. "
The livestock grazing in Lake Wind actually have some toxins in their meat, but the dosage is not high. I guess they are also experienced. They often slaughter them before they are one year old. You can see that those sheep are not big. In addition, did you notice that we ate meat that night, but those children all ate boiled beans and rice, because although beans and rice don’t taste good, they are very toxic." "What about
the fruits in the Red Pomegranate settlement." Tilan heard this and continued to ask.
"The fruits produced in the Red Pomegranate settlement are between mutton and beans and rice in terms of toxicity. If you eat one or two a day, it’s not a big problem, but if you eat them for a long time, you probably won’t live past 50 years old." Fran thought about it and drew a line on the notebook to calculate.
"In this land, the average life expectancy of people is less than 30." Tilan remembered what Sura had told her before.
"That's right, so I don't think they care."
"But what surprised me is that the wheat grown by the moose boss is really not polluted. If you pay attention to changing the soil from time to time, the toxicity is probably only a weak part absorbed from the air. If you eat it for a long time, you can live to more than 70 years old, provided that you don't die in an accident in the middle of the life."
"Good food is hard currency." Tilan unconsciously repeated what Sura told her that day.
No wonder the well-informed Sura was willing to stay in this small settlement on the grassland. Although the scenery there was nice and the environment was comfortable, it was probably because of food.
After that, the two continued to walk along the mountain road and saw many small vendors and travelers selling things on the roadside.
"The teeth of the black-spotted beast are strong and sharp. They can be used to make many tools. They can be exchanged for food and leather."
"Snake scale fruit, found in the swamp in the west, has poisonous juice and is particularly useful when applied to weapons. You have to exchange it with something valuable."
"Semi-automatic rifle, 90% new, purchased from the settlement in the east not long ago, asking for 80 stamps."
Looking at the rifle that many people were watching, the girl and Fran were a little curious, but it would be difficult to get close.
"What is a stamp?" Fran caught a passerby and asked.
"A stamp is a piece of paper issued by the Stone Forest Fortress, used as currency. If you want to stay overnight in the Stone Forest Fortress, you have to pay 3 stamps. If you just go into the city to buy something, one stamp will do." The other person answered casually.
"So this is the local currency."
Seeing that they couldn't squeeze in and the line was slowly getting closer, Heshia and Fran stepped out and returned to the carriage. Guy was talking to a man in a rough coat.
"You're back." He greeted them and continued talking to the man.
"What big thing happened recently? Why do I see that rifles that were extremely rare in the past have become so common?"
"You've been in a small place for too long, and you're not well-informed." The other party laughed and joked with contempt.
"There was chaos in the east. It seems that a large stronghold fortress was breached by insects. Several large forces there had to migrate to our side. On the way, they clashed with the settlements and strongholds along the way, and then fought."
"These forces are not ordinary people. They all have guns, and it is said that they also have a small number of artillery."
"When they came here, sometimes it was a war, and sometimes it was a trade. So many rifles flowed into our side. These guys are quite powerful. Many settlements fought with the surrounding areas as soon as they got the guns, and conquered opponents that they could not beat or were evenly matched with."
"Now it has spread to the Stone Forest Fortress. I heard that the high-level Gray Feather people living in the inner house of the volcano are beginning to discuss how to solve these problems. Should they issue a strict ban or directly offer a high price to collect these rifles? Otherwise, with these things, the surrounding balanced environment will be broken sooner or later."
"So, things have been particularly uneasy recently." Guy thought for a while.
"That's right. Now the caravans going to and from Shilin will hire a lot of people for protection. How about returning to your old job and teaming up with me, Guy?" The other man leaned against the car and raised his brows.
"Ahahahaha, you know, I quit this business after escaping death that time. It's better to find a settlement to live in peace and retire. Besides, you said you have a gun. I'm afraid my longbow is a bit powerless and can't beat those people."
"What can't be beaten? A bunch of furry kids who got new toys, without any experience, think they can do big things with a gun, tut tut." The other man shook his head in complaint.
"There are too many ways to kill people, poisoning, tripping, setting traps, night attacks, driving wild beasts, there are many ways, our business is not just about being able to fight."
After that, the two talked for a few more words. Seeing that the carriage was about to enter the city, the man stood up and waved goodbye.
"Is he your friend?" Fran looked at the sturdy man who walked to the back of the caravan.
"Yes, I met him in Xiaolinbao before, and we have cooperated several times." Guy answered, and then led the horse forward.
"You need to hand in a stamp to enter the city. If you don't have one, you can exchange it with something." The guard at the city gate, wearing chain mail and smocks, shouted to the people coming from behind.
"By the way, you also need to hand in the carriage, one stamp for each horse."
Guy stopped with the horse, and calmed down the two ponies who were a little nervous and had never seen the world, then took out 6 stamp papers from the interlayer of his clothes and handed them over.
The guard counted them and nodded, "Four people, two horses, go."
Then Heshia sat in the carriage and slowly passed through the tall city gate. Compared with the cool water vapor in the mountains, the air here was slightly turbid and warmer. There were many stalls along the way, selling various things nearby, as well as some snacks.
"Where did you get the stamp paper you just gave me?" Fran asked about what happened just now.
"I prepared it in advance at the Red Pomegranate settlement. Otherwise, they would definitely lower the price if I tried to exchange it at the city gate." Guy explained skillfully.
"For example, a fruit jar that can be sold for 10 stamps was taken away by them for 8 stamps."
"It's a bit low, but it looks okay. They didn't lower the price too much." Fran commented. He had been to a stronghold that was even more greedy and exploitative than this before.
"The gray feathers here are still quite particular, mainly because of the prestige of the Gray Fur Maester. He formulated most of the laws and rules in the Stone Forest Castle."
After listening to the conversation between the two, Heshia touched Orlesi, who was still sleeping in her arms, and woke her up.
The drowsy ice elf propped herself up, looked around with sleepy eyes, and found Tilan, hugged the girl's shoulders and rubbed her head against them.
"Tilan, I'm hungry." During this period of time, she became more and more skilled in acting like a spoiled child.
"Okay, I'll take you to find something to eat later." Heshia touched Orles lovingly, feeling that the child had gained some weight.
How did Orles control her weight before? Did she learn a special secret method? Now that she has lost her memory and can't remember, she has started to grow freely.
Tilan shook her head, thinking that if it really didn't work, she would let Orles lose weight after she got fat. Now she is still within the normal range, after all, her foundation is exceptionally good.
However, here, Tilan looked at the scattered houses built along the mountain walls on both sides of the road, and finally felt like she had come to a civilized world.
The further she walked in, the more steam roared from the forging sound, and looking at the tall chimneys, exhaust gas and white mist constantly coming out, there was also an illusion that she was about to enter the industrial age.
On the streets, various new races shuttled back and forth. Their physical details were different from those of humans, but their appearances were similar. They were bustling, some shopping, some hawking, and some strolling.
Finally, the carriage of the four people stopped in front of a tavern.
"The 'Black Pig Bar' is here." Guy jumped out of the car and pulled it into the back shed.
"It's the only place within hundreds of miles where you can have a good meal. The black pork from Shilin Mountain Fort is the specialty here."
"It would be a pity if I didn't have a meal every time I come here. Many people work hard just to get the stamp and splurge for a night here at the end of each month."
"Let's go, let's have a meal here this time too."
(End of this chapter)
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