Heart of the Castle

Chapter 39 Anecdotes 13 Chasing the Grand Duchess, a bumpy road to love (Part [-])

Castle Black Hotel is located about half a day north of North Aura City, an important military town in Northern Territory. Guangyao Avenue diverges at a fork here, and the road to the south is divided into two, leading to the former capital of Northern Territory— - Deke City and a new commercial market town - Crow Language Walled City, although the former has faded out of the political and economic center of Northern County, it still has tens of thousands of residents; the latter is a place where subhumans and aboriginals live, secluded In the depths of the Rotten Swamp, it is connected by a newly built road. On the day the road was built, the Lord Regent, Levi Ston, issued a notice to all the people in Northern Border County, announcing that the Rotten Swamp would be included in the territory controlled by the Kingdom of Arthur, and Crow Language Walled City is the only commercial town open to the outside world in this swamp.

At the beginning, only the courageous merchants dared to set foot on this area, which is a forbidden area for human beings, but when they returned without incident, they exchanged the originally meager commodities to destroy a large number of swamp special products At that time, the rich business opportunities and profit returns immediately made the merchants forget all the risks, and the road immediately became bustling. Many carriages and wheelbarrows full of goods can be seen passing by every day. The two belong to the well-capitalized chamber of commerce and the poor The down-and-out traveling merchants have very different statuses, but their goals are exactly the same.

There is only one road to the north, which winds through the Dusk Forest, which was once regarded as a forbidden area of ​​nature. It is the only way for business travelers and pedestrians to go to the current capital of Northern County, Greencastle, and several other important towns.

This inn is located in such an important traffic point, and the daily business is naturally so enviable that the innkeeper Fabian, a former adventurer with a big belly, often laughs from ear to ear.Since the beginning of this year, he has expanded the hotel rooms three times in a row, and built many simple long sheds around the hotel with logs and rough stones for travelers with equally poor clothes and wallets to rest, but it is still overcrowded every day.A solid fence with a height of three meters was used as the outermost defensive measure of the hotel, but the object of defense was not the robbers and bandits who used to haunt the Dusk Forest, but the hungry herds that occasionally harassed the business travellers.

"This is all thanks to His Excellency the Regent!" Almost every night, Boss Fabian, who was sitting behind the counter wiping his cup, sighed like this several times, and then he must say, "A year ago, When His Excellency the Regent came to the shop, he was full of praise for the ale brewed by old Fabian, here, it is the table where His Excellency the Regent used to sit next to."

The table Boss Fabiang proudly pointed out with his fingers was the only place in the stone hall of the Castle Black Inn where no guests were seated, but this was not surprising.Because the furnishings on this table are very different from other tables. It is covered with a red tablecloth sprinkled with gold powder, and five high-quality tallow candles are lit on the silver candlesticks. The bright candlelight reflects a set of silver-plated plates around it. It is shiny, and there is a table card made of black oak next to it.

"For the seat of the Griffin, the price of the Shenghui package starts from 5 gold coins, and individual customers are not accepted."

5 gold coins is not a small amount, at least among the many merchants, tourists and adventurers who stopped at the Castle Black Inn, few people can easily spend such a sum of money, let alone squander it on a dinner.The last time the Seat of Griffons opened was two months ago. A young noble from the royal capital was on his way to his newly acquired territory. When he passed by Castle Black on the way, he sat at this table and tasted a meal worth 5 coins. Gold Coin's "Supper Raised by the King Regent".

In all fairness, the dinner was the real thing, at least the “Ale the Regent raved about” was never watered down, and the “Rye Bread the Regent raved about” was filled with crispy nuts instead of toasted. Mushy oat grains; as for the "barbecue that the Regent is full of praise", Boss Fabiang spent all his money, not only the meat is tender, the skin is browned, and even chopped saffron and cumin are sprinkled on it.

However, for the nobles of the royal capital who have enjoyed all kinds of luxurious life, what is in front of them is really just a piece of poor food from a country shop. Although it is not difficult to swallow, it is definitely not worth the high price of 5 gold coins.The young nobleman almost dropped his glass, but fortunately he remembered that Her Majesty Queen Fleisher I and the regent Lord Levi Ston had reiterated several times that the nobles of the kingdom forbid the use of violence against civilians without sufficient reasons, otherwise they will be punished. He was deprived of his noble title and territory, so he had no choice but to touch his nose, cursing the unscrupulous boss in a low voice, while eating this "dinner full of praise from the regent".

If it were an ordinary person, after going through this turmoil, they should put away the deceitful tricks of "Griffin Position".However, Boss Fabiang’s choice was exactly the opposite. While promoting His Excellency the Regent’s simple life attitude with great fanfare, he found a high-level bard and skillfully polished the young nobleman’s affairs, forming a A lighthearted and humorous tune.

Every night, when the stone hall of Castle Black is the busiest, this ditty will be played at the right time, and Boss Fabiang’s smiling explanation and interpretation of the incident will always arouse bursts of laughter. It also adds a popular topic of conversation for business travelers during the boring journey in the next few days.

When night fell, the clock tower of the Black Castle Hotel rang on time to remind the guests of dinner. For the villagers living nearby, it was a call for the end of their hard work and to go back to reunite with their families; For travelers, this is a signal to remind them to end the day's trip as soon as possible and look for a camping place.

As it was late spring, the weather in Northern County began to warm up, and the bitter cold wind no longer quietly sneaked into the camping tents in the middle of the night.After the continuous cleanup by the bobcats and wolves, the number of hungry beasts in the Dusk Forest has also been greatly reduced. For travelers trying to catch the night, this ancient forest, which was originally regarded as a daunting road by many people, has become safer. many.

Even so, for the vast majority of adventurers and merchants, the food, hot water and beds at the Castle Black Hotel are still very attractive, as long as they are not too distressed or the schedule is too tight, they will always choose to stay here stay.Get ready for your walk through the dusk forest, or get a good night's rest to recover from fatigue.

As usual, the chubby, stocky Fabian boss stood behind the oak counter, wiping his never-ending supply of glasses and dishes with a clean linen cloth, and behind him was a row full of people. Tall wine barrels filled with the famous special ale of the Castle Black Inn; The waiters and hotel maids shuttled back and forth in the hall like hardworking worker bees, the former held a large number of roast forks in his hand, more than half of them wore pork and mutton cut into small pieces and marinated deliciously, A small part is covered with vegetables such as green and red peppers, mushrooms, onions, peeled potatoes and white radishes.The latter held a large tray full of wooden wine glasses in his hand, and served foamy brown ale and unfiltered sour wine to the guests who came to dine.

All seemed so peaceful, as it had been every happy evening these days.Boss Fabian patted his fat cheeks with emotion, poured himself a small glass of ale from the barrel behind him, thought about it, poured back half a glass with heartache, then raised the glass, and wished in a low voice Said, "Good health, Lord Griffin who brings us peace and prosperity." Then he drank it with a satisfied expression.

Boss Fabiang’s happy mood didn’t last long. Before he had time to put down his glass, a waiter hurried into the counter and whispered in his ear, “Boss, singer Tom asked me to bring you a Let’s just say that he doesn’t feel well today and can’t perform on stage…”

"This vampire deserves to go to the abyss hell! He must be disgusted that I don't pay him enough!" Boss Fabiang put down his glass heavily, and cursed in a low voice through gritted teeth, "Not feeling well? You can't see him at lunch. Where is the discomfort! What patient can eat half a chicken, a pot of pea soup, and four large pieces of black bread? Unless he is full... What the hell, if the singer is not coming, what will the guests do tonight? You Go back and tell him that I am willing to give him an extra silver coin every night... no, three quarters of a silver coin, let him come right away..."

The waiter boy promised, and was about to run back to pass the letter, when a melodious lute tune sounded outside the door, although it was short, one could hear the performer's skillful and graceful technique, and boss Fabiang invited him for a very cheap reward. The minstrel in .

The fat innkeeper turned his head in surprise, just in time to see two dusty travelers pushing in through the door. The traveler in front was holding a simple wooden harp in his arms. He had a handsome appearance and a slender body. It looks like the long sword hanging on his waist; the one behind is a young female adventurer with a sheathed dagger tied on the outside of her thigh, and the hood is drooping, revealing only her well-shaped chin and a few Locks of curly brown hair with a touch of gold.

It seems that these two people have just driven a long distance, and their expressions look a little tired. Seeing that the stone hall of Castle Black is very lively and almost full of seats, the female adventurer seems to be hesitant, and leans closer to the handsome young man in front of her. The man whispered something in his ear.

The handsome young man then squeezed through the crowd, "May the gods in the sky bless your business prosperity," he said in a melodious voice like a lark, "Good boss, is there any room for two people here? ?”

"I also wish you a smooth journey." Boss Fabiang replied, while examining the young man's tidy but rather shabby attire with harsh eyes. "This guest, you can see it too. Every table is full of guests. I'm afraid I can't find a new seat for you unless..."

"Unless what?" The handsome young man raised an eyebrow.

"It looks like you are a bard?" Boss Fabiang said in an affirmative tone, and then raised a fat finger, "You see, the Castle Black Inn originally hired a man who is good at playing lute and singing A singer in a light-hearted tune, but unfortunately he is unwell today and unable to perform, which gave me a headache."

The handsome young man played a relaxed and joyful note on the harp with his fingers, "I see, so kind boss, I am willing to perform tonight in exchange for dinner and a bed for two."

"That's great." Boss Fabiang slapped his hands with a smile on his face, and called a waiter boy over, "Put two chairs in the counter, and bring over the barbecue and bread for two." The waiter boy He nodded again and again, and when he was about to do it, Boss Fabiang stopped him again, glanced at the young man and his companion who were talking with him from the corner of his eye, and said in a low voice, "This meal is provided for free, you Don’t forget to add more side dishes.”

(End of this chapter)