The Immortal Wizard is watching

Chapter 21 Strange Rumor
Winter is approaching, even at noon, Ronan, looking at the sun, can still feel the chill around him.

He was moving quickly on a war horse, and ten cavalrymen who were knight attendants followed behind him, protecting a carriage.

It contains some gold and loot earned along the way.

Old Mo, who was sitting in the carriage, was holding the list and carefully calculating their value.

The outline of the gate of Black Rock City had appeared before Ronan's eyes, and they were about to arrive there.

Because it was a fast trip led by the cavalry, it would have taken nearly two days to arrive, but it would arrive in less than half a day.

This is because it is dragged by the carriage, otherwise it could be faster.

The road connecting the two places is smooth and suitable for cavalry operations. Looking at the city in front of him, Ronan thought that this meant that if necessary, whether it was attack or support, he would be able to lead troops there immediately.

After leading his men into the city gate, Ronan found a hotel for placement.

Then he sent one of his men to the lord's castle, and handed over the letter of visit to the local lord, Viscount Pecks.

Under his orders, Old Motou took five soldiers and set off to the local chamber of commerce.

Ronan needs him to sell the goods in his hand, buy enough food, oil and salt and other daily necessities, and find out the situation of the artisans in the city.

With the remaining four soldiers, Ronan found an open tavern in the city and walked in.

The space in the tavern is not small, except for the bar counter, there are more than a dozen tables with guests sitting on it, and four or five people gather together to toast and drink.

Surprisingly, it was quite lively.

Looking at these people, Ronan thought, before walking on the road in the city, he didn't see a few pedestrians, and the few people who passed by occasionally were in a hurry and frightened. He thought that this was the case in the city.

But when he saw the costumes of these people in the tavern, he understood.

Swords, guns and hammers, old chain armor of different styles, leather armor, etc. Most of the owners sitting here are mercenaries.

This is a rare occupation in Triumph City.

Unlike businessmen, they have the Dantuma Alliance, an organization that maintains the credibility of the industry.

There is no mercenary association in the empire, and these so-called mercenaries don't mind robbing their employers by the way, apart from taking money to do their jobs.

Attacking caravans, invading villages, massacring civilians, they only need to cover their faces with weapons, and they are no different from thieves.

Without credibility, it is naturally impossible to develop.

It's just that the geographical location of Black Rock City is very special.

The high price of white fur among nobles drives the trade demands of merchants.

In the northern provinces, the cold wind collar that can produce white fur, the winter frost collar and other places are located behind Blackstone City.

These harvested furs will be gathered here, and then transported to other cities by caravans.

However, this place is far away from the center, and it is difficult for the power of the nobles of the kingdom to interfere.

Therefore, a large number of mercenary businesses have emerged around this city. Some of them will go north into the permafrost, hunt animals for fur and sell them to merchants.

Among them, the powerful mercenary group will also provide protection services for the passing caravans.

Since there is no fixed site and the risk of death is extremely high, the mercenaries advocate carpe diem in time, and the Black Death cannot hinder their happy time of gathering and drinking.

Considering that drinking alcohol is safer than drinking water these days, it is understandable.

When Ronan looked at them, other people in the tavern were also looking at the stranger who broke in.

The aristocratic uniforms that are incompatible with the environment make people around him look at him with repulsion and hostility.

However, Ronan didn't care. After walking to the bar, he asked White and the others to sit down together.

"What do you want? The young master from outside."

Behind the bar is a female bartender with red hair. She has well-balanced facial features, a few freckles on her face, and her plump chest has attracted the attention of many people in the bar.

"Five glasses of rye beer."

After the female bartender handed over four glasses, she glanced at Ronan, and her gaze stayed on his silk robe for a moment.

"I recommend your Red Cliff wine more, otherwise I'm afraid you will get angry and smash my shop." She shrugged, with a hint of ridicule in her tone.

"No need, it's all the same to me."

Ronan declined her offer, he had no particular interest in wine.

In this era, limited by the backwardness of winemaking and storage technology, glass is not popularized, and the airtightness is not good enough. It is normal for low-strength wine liquid in wooden barrels to deteriorate and become sour. Nobles can drink it with some spices.

When the territory develops in the future, Ronan may try to make his own wine, but not now.

Grapes can't be grown in the territory, and as for other grains, potatoes and other food, he doesn't even have enough for his own people.

After taking a few sips of the bitter beer, Ronan asked her:

"I need to know some recent news about Black Rock City, interesting, strange, as long as you think it is valuable, you can tell me."

He pressed a gold coin on the stage with his finger.

After the female bartender took a look, she supported her chin with her palm, leaned her upper body towards Ronan, and the fullness of her chest was even more obvious.

"That's too much to say, but I don't think you'll be interested in the little commotion between civilians and mercenaries. Let me think about it."

"The youngest daughter of the Pecks family tried to run away from home three days ago, and there was a lot of trouble. When the blood wolf mercenary group came back fifteen days ago, it brought a white bear, which was a sensation. Father Flo of the church in the city He has been missing for a month now, and no one knows where he went."

"Wait, the priest is missing?"

Ronan interrupted her, "How many churches are there in Black Rock City? Who is the highest leader of the church?"

"There is only one church in the city, and the missing Father Flo is the manager of the church."

"What about the rest of the church after he disappeared? Does the Pecks family care?"

Seeing that the red-haired female bartender looked at him with a smile and didn't speak, and moved her head closer, Ronan pulled his body back.

"I can also learn this information from other places in the city. A gold coin is already worth all of it."

"Tsk, what a boring man, or boy?"

She glanced at Ronan's slightly immature delicate cheeks, licked the corner of her mouth, and turned her head back in disappointment.

"The priest disappeared in his favorite steam room. It is said that a wandering girl there disappeared with him. Well, you should know what that is for, right?"

"Yeah." Ronan understood the reason, and disappeared with a prostitute. In order to maintain his reputation, the church could only choose to deal with it in a low-key manner.

After throwing the gold coin to her, Ronan was about to leave. The female bartender looked at his face with some reluctance. After thinking for a while, she added:

"Other than these, there is only the theory of heaven's punishment that has been circulated recently."

"what is that?"

"What else can I say? The emperor violated the precepts, and the Black Death was a punishment from the Lord in the sky. I remember that this was a rumor a long time ago. I don't know why recently, it has become popular again in the south. Merchants are whispering about it."

Ronan stretched out his hand, and the four knight servants, who were originally angry, realized their gaffe, and quickly corrected their posture after long-term training.

"Ha, I didn't expect him to be a loyal and patriotic young master."

"Thank you for the compliment." Ronan got up and led the people out of the tavern.

(End of this chapter)