Chapter 54 The Trial of Truth: Girls and dogs alike are utterly baffling...
Girls and dogs are equally baffling.
Lucas paused for a moment, puzzled, but still followed.
What did the High Priest know? He couldn't help but wonder. How could that spider know his secret? Or did her mysterious power allow her to know they shared a secret, but not entirely? If that were the case, how was the success or failure of the trial determined?
Lucas both disliked and liked this lack of structure. He had discovered during his studies at court that he couldn't remember anything if he couldn't grasp the underlying principles of what his teachers were teaching.
But those mysterious things are also full of fun. For example, elves, fairies, magic, and unicorns.
Unfortunately, his father never appreciated his interests. He once watched as the magic book burned to ashes and went on an adventure in the forest with the children of the lower town, only to be met with endless darkness and pain.
Then came that foolish mistake.
The high priest said, "Find the truth you seek." What they were looking for in Coldpaw Forest was nothing more than the truth about Billy. Lucas had a pretty good idea of it, but he wasn't certain yet.
They must use magic to see the truth.
Even if it's confirmed... he still has to be careful.
Ashley can't know the mistakes he's made, or their friendship will vanish overnight. When she discovers he's just a coward, he'll lose her forever.
The thought passed by as lightly as a piece of paper, yet it left a pain in his heart sharper than a dagger.
Billy Mara opened the door for them.
"Dad! These two little ones have passed the first trial!"
Mr. Mara patted them both in surprise, but Ray didn't cheer for them.
“Very well,” she said coldly, “what are you going to do next? Play catch?”
Ashlin used dog-speaking magic to tell the Mara family their plan. Mr. Mara's expression immediately changed.
"Using magic again? To my son?" he asked nervously.
“Don’t worry about T, there are no side effects,” Lucas assured him. “We’ll just be able to see the truth. Billy, you don’t want to have amnesia forever, right?”
Ray watched them coldly.
"It seems you really want to pass the trial."
“What else?” Ashlin asked.
Ashlyn and Lucas were both taken aback, while Billy and Mr. Mara also frowned.
Ray waved her hand: "Tell me. Is it money, the position of Chief Court Mage, or becoming a princess?"
Okay, he did say he would have the court mage Manette teach Ashlin magic, but what does that amount to? Ashlin was completely selfless.
“Really?” Ray bent down, getting closer to her, his golden eyes narrowing into slits. “Then you’re incredibly foolish to go through fire and water for someone like that. I heard Dias doesn’t like witches at all, especially the royal family. They certainly don’t treat you well. Turning the prince into a cat is just a small revenge. What’s there to make up for?”
“Hey, I’m still here,” Lucas reminded him.
“I’m doing this precisely because they’re not friendly to wizards. Maybe it will change their attitude,” Ashlin said. “The Dragon Wars haven’t been over for many years, and the ban on magic has only been lifted recently. People just need time.”
"You're really magnanimous," Ray said sarcastically.
“I’m not just doing this for Lucas, nor do I necessarily want to change people’s perceptions of magic,” Ashlyn said. “The biggest problem is that there’s a dark wizard on the run. The wreath… can help us stop his plans.”
Ray stared at her for a moment, as if to see if it was a joke; then she grinned, her sharp leopard teeth almost gleaming.
“So you’re the heroes who save the world! How noble!” Ray said. “I was wrong. You’re not ignorant, little witch. You’re just presumptuous. What makes you think it’s your job to stop the dark wizard?”
Ashlin wrinkled her nose.
"I don't know. Someone has to do this, right?"
"Is the King of Dias just a figurehead, and the Witcher just a figurehead? Do they really entrust the entire country to a little witch who can't even find the right size hat?" Ray said. "Leave adult matters to adults. Stop deceiving yourself; continuing the trials will only kill you. Neither the black cat nor the black wizard is worth it."
Lucas thought Ray had a point; he really didn't deserve it.
But Ashlin stared intently at Ray, as if about to let out a muffled roar.
“I can judge for myself whether something is worth doing, thank you,” she said sharply. “Now, we’re moving on to the next step of the trial. Lucas?”
Lucas stared at her, mesmerized. The golden retriever suddenly looked incredibly handsome, its long golden fur gleaming in the sunlight. For a fleeting moment, he longed to nuzzle its remarkably soft fur.
"Lucas? Woof, what are you doing?"
Lucas felt a little ashamed.
He quickly grabbed a pen, forgetting Ashlin, and, thinking about the formula he had just smelled, the impression Billy had given him, and Grummel's three laws of magic, wrote down on the parchment:
Pardus Furor, Iris Veritas, Revelare Intimum.
"You're not a wizard, yet you can write spells," Billy exclaimed in amazement.
Ashlin pulled the paper over and recited the spell in animal language.
The room was completely silent.
"I know! You don't need to tell me," the golden retriever said impatiently.
Lucas shut his mouth, wondering what he had done to offend her again.
She cleared her throat again and recited the incantation once more.
Lucas could feel the spell taking effect. Billy's golden eyes widened, filling the room with a golden-green light.
When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves in Billy Mara's memories.
In my memory, the lines before the High Priest's Ancient Tree in Coldclaw Forest were longer and more chaotic than they are now. Most of the Noriras cowered at the back of the line, while some well-dressed Gretas swaggered to the front, and the other orcs dared not utter a word of protest.
A squirrel-headed little beastman stood anxiously in a secluded spot, her face full of anticipation for her turn in line, until a tall figure blocked the sunlight in front of her.
It was a deer-man named Greta, who had a strong human body but a ferocious, multi-pronged deer antler on his head.
It was the one Ashlin had just bitten.
"Get out of the way, squirrel." The stag guard nudged her lightly with his antlers, but the force was not light. "Don't you have any sense? Greta first."
The squirrel made a squeaking sound. "But...but I've been waiting in line for so long!"
"Oh?" The deer guard scoffed. "A piece of trash from Noreira who can't even beat me dares to participate in the trial? The High Priest's wreath on your head will only be tarnished by your stupidity!"
A murmur of laughter rippled through the surrounding orcs, mostly Gretas. Several Noriras lowered their heads, unable to bear the sight any longer.
A leopard-like man stepped forward; it was Billy.
“Say the word ‘trash’ one more time and I’ll let you taste the claws of a feline,” Billy warned.
The deer-man lazily sized him up. Although Billy was a leopard, he was thin and weak, neither strong nor agile, and completely lacked his sister's imposing presence.
A thought flashed through Lucas's mind. Norira? Ray was clearly Greta.
There is only one explanation: Ray used a wreath to "modify" himself into Greta, who had a human face and leopard ears.
But wasn't she permanently expelled from the trial?
Ray was a thief, a wanted criminal in Coldpaw. Lucas remembered what Ray had said when they first entered Coldpaw. She had stolen something.
The things of the dwarf Nova.
Billy growled and swung his claws at the deer guard.
The deer guard didn't even use his weapon; he simply dodged to the side, his hard antlers slamming into Billy's ribs.
The squirrel was terrified, and several pine cones fell out of its pocket.
Billy cried out in pain and was forced to bend over as he was hit.
Ashlyn, standing next to Lucas, yelled angrily, but they were just in Billy's memories and couldn't do anything about it.
"waste!"
"Noreira should stay in the garbage dump!"
"Want to become Greta again? Maybe in your next life!"
Billy was knocked to the ground like a rag doll, his beautiful fur covered in mud and snow. He tried to curl up to protect himself, but the deer guard's hooves slammed into his back, rendering him immobile and leaving him only able to whimper.
Finally, the deer guard seemed to have gotten tired of fighting, and he spat at the immobilized Billy.
The deer guard and his companions laughed and cut in front of the line, which slowly resumed its flow as if nothing had happened.
Billy lay alone in the mud. The snow seemed to be melting before he limped to his feet. His eyes were still golden, but darker than the night.
As soon as he got home, he went straight to his father's bookshelf, took down "An Introduction to the Fundamentals of Magic," and read it from beginning to end without missing a single word.
The cat and dog moved closer and clearly saw the most crucial information.
The illustration of that strangely symmetrical, white and green grass.
The text below the image reads:
"Twin Grass"
Can it grant people magical powers?
Effects on the divine offspring: May cause a feeling of intoxication.
The trade goods between the Forest Goddess and Cynthia.
Born from legends of creation and destruction, the monster's heart is its soil.
It was another riddle-like statement, but thankfully LKD thoughtfully provided an explanation:
Yeti.
"The deal between the Forest Goddess and Cynthia?" Ashlin asked.
Lucas didn't respond to her; his heart sank lower and lower.
At this point, LKD was unsure of the herb's function; the handwriting on "granting magic" was noticeably more erratic than the others, not to mention the three question marks that followed. Clearly, LKD was still researching the true effects of the Twin Grass at this stage.
This notebook was probably his first one, and it was likely mixed in with some old books and then cleared out, eventually ending up in the hands of a bookseller in Hanzhaolin.
However, Billy didn't notice. Blinded by rage, he tore off the picture of the twin grass, but not the part with the words.
The image is drawn away like ink, then slowly falls back down, creating a new scene.
The taverns in Coldclaw Forest are always bustling, with orcs toasting each other, arm wrestling, and bards playing Aidan's music in the corners.
Billy held a bottle of hot beer and gulped it down. Across from him sat a dwarf with brown hair, whose head he could only see.
Nova.
Lucas blinked in surprise.
She watched Billy carefully, without touching a drop of alcohol.
"What do you want with me? I have no grudge against the orcs."
“I heard from those wolves over there that you want to participate in the trial.” Billy put down his glass and wiped the foam from the corner of his mouth. “You want to get the wreath through the trial, right, little one?”
Nova nodded.
What do you need the wreath for?
"Improved Yeti".
Lucas and Ashley both perked up their ears.
“That’s great,” Billy said. “Have you ever seen a Yeti? I mean a real Yeti?”
Nova shook his head. "No. But I'm sure it exists."
"Why?"
Nova hesitated for a moment. "My grandma told me."
Billy scoffed.
"Your grandma."
“My grandmother designed the Edoro Labyrinth,” Nova said, as if that alone was enough to convince him.
Lucas almost jumped up.
The Labyrinth of Edor was indeed designed by the dwarven mechanic and the archmage of Dias.
However, since the books he read were all written by humans from Dias, he tended to focus more on the achievements of the human archmage Iller. He only briefly mentioned the dwarven mechanic, Amber.
Amber is Nova's grandmother. But what is their connection to the Yeti?
Nova didn't seem like a good liar, and Billy probably wasn't a thoughtful guy either.
Lucas had a vague idea.
“Great,” Billy said happily. “I just need something from the Yeti’s body. It grows in the Yeti’s heart. But ordinary people can’t defeat the Yeti. Once you repair it with the wreath, you’ll be able to control it, right?”
"I hope so."
"And then what? And what do you want to do with the Yeti?"
“Research,” Nova replied briefly. “It has always been my responsibility.”
"responsibility?"
Lucas craned his neck, extremely curious. But Nova didn't answer, nor did she look at Billy; instead, she stared at the cookie crumbs in a crack in the table. After what seemed like an eternity, she spoke again:
"The family's responsibility. Grandma. The Yeti is her problem."
The leopard-man only extended one claw.
"High Priests are very rare to meet. Even the Greta orcs have to wait in long lines to participate in the trials, let alone a dwarf. However, my father has a good relationship with the High Priest, so I can help you participate in the trials. In exchange, you help me control the Yeti and obtain the Twin Grass. Deal?"
Nova hesitated for a moment before grasping his paw. "The deal is done."
The scene changes again.
In the snowy plains, Billy Mara stood alone with his leopard before a snow-white hillside. Now Lucas realized that it wasn't a hillside.
It was so enormous and so white that, apart from its bizarre face, it was hard to call it a monster. Of all the monsters, it was the one that most closely resembled a giant angel.
On the Yeti stood a brown-haired dwarf girl, adorned with mechanical artifacts that jingled in the cold wind.
"You knocked the Yeti unconscious beforehand?" Billy asked in surprise. "You've already fixed it with the wreath?"
Nova shook his head.
"The garland was stolen by the leopard."
A cold wind blew, and Billy's hair stood on end. "By whom?"
“Ray Mara,” Nova said through gritted teeth, “My trial ended, and before I even got to touch the wreath… she stole it.”
They both looked up at the Yeti's body, and Billy chuckled.
Billy didn't seem particularly surprised to see the legendary monster for the first time. His thirst for the Twin Grass's power was so intense that he couldn't care less about anything else.
Simple-minded and physically weak, Lucas thought, an impulsive fool.
However, he is not qualified to judge Billy.
“The Yeti has a heart problem.” Nova’s ear was pressed against the Yeti’s chest. “It’s still beating, but weakly.”
“Oh, what a coincidence. What I need is exactly what’s in its heart,” Billy said optimistically.
“Yes. I can get you the grass you need, because the space inside can only accommodate dwarves or small animals,” Nova said. “But a broken Yeti isn’t worth studying. Now there are no wreaths, and no living Yeti, the plan has failed. We need a living Yeti, and something else, another legend…”
She didn't move. Billy's tail wagged impatiently.
"another?"
“Sylvina’s Ring,” Nova said. “It was a ring given to my grandmother to control the Yeti. But it’s lost.”
Lucas felt he was understanding less and less. Why did the forest goddess give Nova's grandmother a divine ring to influence the Yeti? The dwarves didn't believe in gods at all.
His heart leaped into his throat, a chill ran through him, and it took him several seconds to realize why he felt this way.
The Ring of Gods was a gift from the forest goddess to a dwarf, just as the Magic Flute was a gift from Death to an elf, and the Magic Fire was a gift from the sun god to a dragon.
This is what Ashlin told him.
The Moon Goddess couldn't have just written down a riddle on a whim; the four items she set out are related. The four gods, the four directions, and the four elements.
There were also four gifts.
The dwarven mining city is in the north. The divine ring is made of metal, which comes from the earth and is an earth element, representing touch. Like the wreath, the divine ring is also a circle.
Those who have not been touched travel north in search of plum blossoms. Plum blossoms.
Sanova had guessed from the beginning that the riddle item from the north might be in the dwarven mining city. However, Lucas initially thought it was unlikely that the item in the riddle was in the dwarven mining city, firstly because the dwarves did not worship any gods, and secondly because he had never heard of the ring. Ashlin just happened to bring up the possibility of the orc wreath.
And the wreath? He racked his brains, trying to find excuses for himself, finding it hard to believe that he had been so terribly wrong.
The wreath was made by the high priest. Although the high priest's magic came from the forest goddess, this did not mean that the wreath was a gift from the forest goddess. They drew conclusions too early, rushed off, and their thinking was too hasty.
But this time, can he be sure?
He has to ask.
“Listen,” Billy said anxiously, “you’re not going to back out, are you? Our deal still stands. I did get my father to help you get the trial qualification, didn’t I? Go in and complete your part of the deal.”
Nova fell into deep thought. She hadn't gained anything from this deal, and now she had to crawl inside a Yeti's body to pull grass—it wasn't a worthwhile trade at all.
“How about this, I’ll try to find out about that ring for you, okay?” Billy immediately added, “I know a couple of elf traders who were exiled to Ilovenia and know a lot about the lost treasures of the continent. Maybe I can find some clues.”
That's why Nova showed up at the auction in Nosi Village.
She'd finally gotten the ring, Lucas thought. "So, can she control the yetis outside Coldclaw Forest now?"
The howling cold wind whipped up snowflakes that stung their faces.
Nova finally agreed to Billy's request, climbed onto the Yeti's body, and took out pliers, screws, and other tools from his toolbox, making a clanging and clattering sound.
The Yeti's chest cavity opened. The smells of metal, engine oil, and blood filled the air.
Lucas berated himself for being stupid.
He should have realized this when he complained about the Yeti's bad breath. What monster could smell metallic?
It was created by the dwarves.
Author's note: I've been being tortured by the school lately, so I can only update according to the ranking list (kneeling down) I can't finish my homework!
Name-related:
The Eidolon Maze sounds grand and impressive, but it's actually just the Eidolon Maze (a labyrinth of illusions).
Nova the dwarf, I forgot when I named him that Ashlin's adoptive father, Sanova, also had the word "Nova" in his name... Sorry, hahaha.
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