Heart of the Castle

Chapter 371 Overnight Hotel, Bad Performance

About half a day’s drive north of North Aura, an important town in the central part of Northern County, there is a famous "Castle Black" inn. In , the castle was burned several times by war, so that the whole building was baked into a scorched black that never fades, hence the name of Castle Black.In the war that made the Dusk Forest no longer a dangerous frontier, the last owner of this castle leaped to the northern border, hoping to gain military exploits to expand his territory. He was finally promoted to Lord with satisfaction, but he was awarded this The glorious battle also made him stay under the high walls of the ancient Green Castle forever.The knight had no descendants, and the inheritance of Castle Black was cut off. The territory was taken back by the kingdom, and the castle itself was bought by a wandering merchant and converted into a resting inn.

Since this inn is located at the necessary place to enter the Dusk Forest along the Guangyao Avenue, it is very popular among travelers.As night approaches, travelers from Dirk, North Aura, and other North County towns are always gathering in the store. They exchange gossip and anecdotes they know, and at the same time, they are doing their best to travel through the Dusk Forest. Final preparations.It is precisely because of this that although the food and drinks provided by the hotel are high in price and poor in quality, the business is always very good. The hall is full of laughter and laughter, and the bright and warm fire burns all night long, like a lighthouse, giving a warm welcome to those who are late. pointing the way.

However, half a year ago, Castle Black was deserted for a period of time, because at that time, a large number of demons appeared in the Viscount Lionel Territory north of the Dusk Forest, and the entire territory was shrouded in terrible thick fog.In the face of the threat of death, both travelers and businessmen gave up the idea of ​​going through the Dusk Forest. The innkeeper Fabian therefore issued the most vicious curse to all the demons more than once, hoping that they would never return to the place full of sulfur smell. lair.

Those difficult years are gone forever, and the evil disaster will soon end, and the newborn young noble forces will rise on the ruins of the Viscount Land.Although the catastrophe caused severe damage to the economy of the territory, it also brought unlimited business opportunities for merchants. This month alone, at least 4 or 5 caravans of large size stopped at Castle Black. Boss Bion counted a lot of silver coins and kept his mouth shut all day long. He wished that this kind of life could last forever.

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door, waking Fabiang from his fantasy dream, "Praise God the Father, and the noble lord who ended the evil disaster, today seems to be a good day, and there is another A new guest is coming." He called out to the waiter boy loudly, "Hey, stupid, don't stick around like a tree stump, go and open the door for the guests, and then ask them what they need."

The waiter boy, nicknamed Dumb, had a fat, round face, and his appearance was fairly decent. There was a bit of a greasy taste in his smile, but it was not annoying.He was chatting and laughing with a red-haired tavern maid in a low voice, when he heard Boss Fabiang's yelling, he immediately agreed, and passed through the hall like a ball that hit the ground hard and then rebounded, Get to the door as fast as you can.

"Welcome, guest, please come in, please come in..." Datou's voice suddenly stopped, because the person standing in front of the opened door was not a traveler, but a priest... No, or rather, wearing A clown in a priest's robe might be more apt.Because the clothes of this man were not only gorgeous, but also exaggerated to the extreme. It can be said that no priest has ever been able to dress like this.But no matter the over-decorated robes, colorful trousers, or boots with shockingly turned-up boots, if one ignores the grotesque shapes on the surface, they are all in line with the style of a priest.

"Good evening, child, God the Father blesses you." The man nodded simply to Daitou. Although his clothes were out of shape, his expression was very solemn, as if he was attending a mass ceremony.

Hearing this voice, Boss Fabian, who was recommending the most expensive drink to a customer who came to the counter to order wine, looked up, with a mixed expression of surprise and disgust on his face.

"So it was you, Babrupa, you scoundrel, rascal, and fraudster! How dare you appear in my sight?" He came out angrily from behind the counter, holding a thick stick in his hand. fire stick.

The gorgeously dressed short fat man showed a calm look, watching the innkeeper approaching with a calm expression. "Father God, isn't this my dear old friend Fabian? Be careful when you say these words, because those are the instigations of the devil. Although I don't care about your offense, the gods may because of your slander And lower the punishment."

"Fuck your gods!" Fabiang poked Babrupa's fat face with the charred end of the stick, "Return the money you cheated from me, or I will let you taste something It's called the taste of hell."

"The sacred precepts tell us to be cautious in our words and deeds, and to respect the believers of the gods, especially the baptized priests." Babrupa said with a serious expression, "Now, put down your stick, or aim it at Other directions, such as the demon that is instilling unclean thoughts in your mind." Boss Fabiang's face became more sinister after hearing this, but before he could get angry, Humpty Humpty took out A heavy money bag was thrown out, which made him shut up, and at the same time lowered the stick in his hand.

"You actually took out the money and returned it to me?" Boss Fabian took the purse from Babrupa's hand, and the heavy feeling made him even more suspicious, "Isn't it full of stones? If I To find you continuing to deceive me, Babrupa, you know what will happen."

As he said that, Boss Fabian untied the rope that tied the money bag, and dumped it on the counter. There was a "crash" sound, and the silver coins and copper coins poured out.

"Pious Babrupa never deceives," Babrupa added solemnly.

"This is strange." Boss Fabiang grabbed a few silver coins, the touch from his fingers was cold and smooth, and it had the unique heaviness of silver, which was indeed genuine. "Babrupa, if you stop cheating money, what will you do for a living?"

"Believers who serve God the Father travel everywhere, and robes and canes are their passports. No one will reject a believer of a god." Babrupa said, and took out a card from his arms. parchment.

Boss Fabian immediately swept all the silver and copper coins on the counter into the drawer, "Indulgence coupons that can forgive crimes, right?" He sneered sarcastically, "But you can rest assured, even if there is no such real I will go to hell, and I will never buy even the cheapest one from you!"

But his voice completely disappeared in his throat when he saw the pattern printed on the parchment.

Boss Fabiang originally thought that what Babrupa brought out was an indulgence note with crude religious pictures. This short fat man once used this kind of thing that was not worth a few pennies, coupled with deceitful rhetoric, from him. He defrauded a lot of silver coins from his guests.This time, however, the parchment shows a fire-breathing Hercules, a little girl walking a rope, an ornate clown, a fortune-telling witch in a hooded robe, and a seductive dancer with scantily clad figures and exaggerated figures.

"Of course... No one would refuse to watch a wonderful circus performance." Babrupa continued, "This is my current job, Babrupa's head of the Gospel Circus."

"Gospel Circus?" Boss Fabian repeated in surprise.Strongly religious as the name was, there was nothing to be seen in the parchment posters, which showed the crudest tricks, but were just the kind of entertainment the travelers at Castle Black needed.

"Where's your circus?"

"The Gospel Circus is not a small group, but a first-class team with dozens of members, and several vehicles of props and supplies." Babrupa explained, "I don't want my members to be helpless." Resting in a warm house, so I rushed over to see how Castle Black is doing."

"You can bring your circus here with confidence." Boss Fabian proudly announced, "There is no hotel near Dusk Forest that can have as many rooms as Castle Black. And if your circus If you are willing to perform with me, I can also give you a discount on your accommodation fee."

"Then it's settled." Babrupa said happily, "It is estimated that the circus will arrive before night falls. You must prepare enough food and drinks. I think the guests who will come to enjoy the show will definitely not few."

"That's kind." Boss Fabiang also seemed very happy, and even generously poured out two glasses of ale with thick foam, and pushed one of them to Babrupa. "Drink it, this is the unique recipe of old Fabian, you can't find a better one in the whole Kingdom of Arthur."

"An even more undrinkable watering method?" Babrupa muttered in a very low voice that was not prepared to be heard, and then took a sip—the taste was as bad as in memory, not only watered , and [-]% of the exchange is not clean water.

If you just look at Boss Fabiang's performance, you will probably think that he is drinking some fine wine, and then wonder if there is something wrong with your tongue, and you can't even taste such a mellow wine.But Babrupa, who was familiar with the boss, knew very well that he was just a miser.

"Hey, Babrupa, what about your... Gospel Circus, how long are you going to perform here?" Boss Fabian asked holding a glass of wine. If the circus can perform for a longer period of time, Castle Black's business will definitely improve. Better yet, the entertainment here is so lacking, not even a singer playing the lute.

"We'll only stay here for one night." Babrupa continued to take a sip of the ale and replied slowly. "Castle Black is not our last stop in the north, and we are going to go further north through the Dusk Forest."

"Wait, Babrupa, where do you say you are going?" Boss Fabiang almost spit out the ale from his mouth. He widened his eyes and looked at Humpty Humpty in disbelief. "You mean the north of the Dusk Forest? Father God, what is there to do there? And it's the cold winter, the snow is several feet deep, and after leaving the Avenue of Glory, there will be no people within dozens of miles. If you are unlucky Lost in the dense forest, you and your circus will become a delicious meal for wolves."

"We are going to spread the faith of God the Father, what is this difficulty?" Babrupa raised his head high, his expression was like that of a martyred saint.

So Boss Fabiang immediately hid away with the cup in his hand, thinking of Babrupa's abnormal behavior when he entered the store, he now regarded this short and fat man as a mentally handicapped person who was a little unconscious.

As night fell, the dinner bells echoed around the top of the steeple of the clock tower of the Castle Black Inn, and the guests came out of their rooms and walked towards the hall where they could both fill their stomachs and exchange information.The boss of Fabiang asked the waiter to fan the fireplaces on the left and right, and then set up rows of grills. Soon, according to the requests of the guests, pieces of fat beef and mutton were placed on the grills rolled over.

Although there are villages near the Castle Black Hotel, there are very few farmers who can endure the high price and the double exploitation of watered ale. There are only a small group of well-off farmers sitting near the counter.Only about one-third of the seats in the hall were occupied, and half of the guests were rude adventurers and mercenaries, even when they were dining, they did not forget to wear swords; the other half were businessmen, including caravans with big bellies Among the leaders, there are also some poorly dressed small merchants.

Boss Fabiang frowned slightly. As the weather became colder, traveling through the Dusk Forest became more and more dangerous. The business of the Castle Black Hotel would become sluggish at this time of year, but at least today, he still Looking forward to a change.

Because the Gospel Circus that Babrupa was talking about had already arrived before night fell, just looking at the seven or eight caravans made Boss Fabiang click his tongue and look forward to it.

When the figure of Babrupa appeared in front of the hall door again, Boss Fabiang almost jumped up excitedly.

"Guests, you may have seen the poster posted at the door, right? Please let me introduce you grandly. I am the head of the famous Gospel Circus. My name is Babrupa! Tonight, I will bring a...wonderful circus to all the guests!"

The people in the hall were stunned at first, and then they all showed expressions of interest. Is there anything better than a wonderful performance to spice up a boring journey?No matter if they were mercenaries, adventurers or businessmen, they would never refuse to watch a show, even if it wasn't as exciting as the chunky captain said, it would still add a lot of fun to them.

Following Babrupa to the door, everyone found that a large tent had been set up in the courtyard of the Black Castle Hotel, and more than a dozen burly men were standing in front of the tent, all wearing wild animal fur coats, with hair on their heads. Wearing a beast bone helmet, they looked very sturdy and barbaric, like a group of uncivilized barbarians.

Babrupa strode toward the tent, then turned and bowed deeply to the audience. "Welcome to all of you for your appreciation. What the Gospel Circus brings to you is wonderful! Please enjoy our first program——Wild Wild Suite!"

As soon as Babrupa's words fell, those big men suddenly shouted at the same time, the voice was like howling wolves, and then the drums sounded like a storm, and the horns blared together, converging into an extremely noisy sound, impacting everyone's heart .No one can hear the rhythm of the music from the sound, because these big guys are tapping different rhythms, interfering with each other, competing with each other, one is working harder than the other, but also crazier than the other.

The drumbeat stopped, and the audience's complaints immediately roared like a tide.

"Is this a piece of music? Is there a worse noise than this?"

"Father God, this is simply torture! I'm about to vomit... vomit..." There was a large space around the audience immediately, allowing him to vent his dissatisfaction to his heart's content.

"Everyone, after the passionate drumming full of exotic customs just now, the next performance is... the extremely dangerous high-altitude rope walk!" Babrupa shouted in a provocative voice while pointing his hand into the air , Sure enough, it attracted most of the audience to look upwards.A rope had been tied between the two watchtowers of Castle Black at some point, and a little girl in a black robe was standing quietly on top of one of the watchtowers with her hands outstretched.

"Look, this little girl walks on this rope without any protective measures, and brings you this wonderful and dangerous show!" Babrupa continued to preach, "Look, she started to walk. It's..."

Sure enough, the little girl started to take a step forward, stepped onto the rope, the rope trembled suddenly, the little girl shook twice, stabilized her footsteps, and then took another step forward.This step was directly missed, and the little girl fell down like a stone. The audience was in an uproar, but before the screams landed, two black wings stretched out from the little girl's back, and they quickly flapped a few times. The small figure He flew up again and landed on the rope.

"Go to his circus, go to his danger!" A mercenary shouted angrily, "This chick can fly!"

"What kind of circus? It's not exciting at all!" A fat businessman also shouted. "We want to see a real show! Let the big bob girl in the poster come out and dance!"

"Yes! Big Ponyo, Big Ponyo!" The audience shouted neatly and rhythmically, and Babrupa wiped the steaming sweat from his forehead, soothing the audience's emotions with a series of voices. "No problem, no problem, the hottest dance, the most seductive dancer, the most shocking music, will be staged soon! We invite our Miss Lacelin Rabbit Ear Mei!"

Following Humpty Man's gesture, the sound of the music boomed again, still unbearably noisy.But this time, the audience didn't care about it. Instead, they cast their eyes on the door of the tent. There was a slender and tall figure shaking violently in the bright lights there, which made many audiences feel hot.

"Leslyn's cute! Sounds like a pretty girl!" said a voice.

"Of course, based on my many years of experience, this name definitely belongs to a sexy stunner, maybe a blonde beauty!" The fat businessman stretched his neck, with an expression of wishing he could rush up and open the curtain of the tent.

The sound of the drums became more and more dense, gradually suppressing the sounds of other instruments, and the hearts of the audience also jumped faster and faster with the rapid sound of the drums. He took it back, and immediately aroused a sigh of disappointment.But only one heartbeat later, the dancer appeared between the greedy eyes with vigorous dance steps.

She is indeed an undeniable beauty, but instead of blond hair, she has tiny gray-blue scales all over her face, her pale yellow eyes are shimmering, and the vertical pupils in the middle are only lizards or snakes. Evil, but also scary enough.The chief dancer of the Gospel Circus, Leslin Tuermei, opened her big mouth full of sharp teeth and smiled at the audience.

After a moment of silence, the screams of grief and indignation soared into the sky.

(End of this chapter)