2nd of September, Hollier City, Cambay District.
For a typical medieval city, the aristocratic district where the feudal lord resided was usually the quietest, while the commercial district where the market was located was the most lively. Other than the residential district where most of the commoners and merchants resided, Cambay District, which was located along the inner side of the northern city wall, was known as the darkest slum district.
The buildings in Cambay District were extremely simple and crude. If Lucifron Ducal Palace exuded a profound and reserved taste of luxury, then what could be smelled here was only fading, withering and the stench of decay.
Roddy would always think of the saying that could be seen everywhere — "Where there are people, there is society."
Even the slum district had its own rules and "society". There were always three or four groups of gangs. Most of them were ferocious-looking and unreasonable, while the rest were mostly lazy, uneducated, and unemployed youths. And the place where they often gathered was the bar in Cambay District — because this was the gathering and distribution center of the "Thieves Guild".
Of course, the "Thieves Guild" sounded like a powerful organization, but to put it bluntly, it was just a loose organization where a group of sneaky thieves met and shared information. It had no physical body, nowhere to be found, but... it was everywhere.
Sitting at the front desk of the "Pig's Head Bar", holding a cup of cheap ale mixed with water, Roddy felt that the name of this bar that he had never been to before seemed familiar. After thinking for a long time, he realized that it was actually the same name as a bar in the literary classic "Harry Potter". When he thought about how the Sorcerer World that once belonged to people's imagination had become a reality in front of his eyes, he felt an inexplicable emotion. He shook his head and took two sips of the ale, but he grimaced and made a face.
Damn, it tastes terrible.
Previously, he had thought about collaborating with the Wood Elves to brew wine, but after meeting Natha, he temporarily gave up on this idea. The concept of "high-end luxury goods" was too distant for the commoners. With his current status, it was not easy to persuade a group of nobles to buy the wine of the Elves. Although it was not that he could not make money, it was not the right time, so he gave up after thinking about it.
Holding the glass in his hand, he was thinking about the Duke of Angmar, but he did not expect the owner of the bar to make fun of him when he was in a daze.
"Hey … Raphael, aren't you going to sing a few songs today? I've been listening to your stories for the past few days, but I prefer a cheerful atmosphere in a bar! "
Hook, who had a full beard, was the owner of this hotel. It was ten o 'clock in the morning, so the bar was basically empty. He was quite free. Naturally, the bars in the slums could not compare to the big bars on the bright streets. The light was dim, the floor was dirty, and the alcohol was cheap, but it was all mixed with water. There was always a dried pig head hanging at the door, and the ferocious expression seemed to symbolize the darkness and cruelty of this area.
"Sing? That's not what I'm good at. If I were to open my mouth and sing those songs, I don't think you would have any good business here. "
Roddy, who went by the alias of "Raphael", smiled and responded to the local gangster. His tone was full of politeness. "If I have time at night, I'll continue to tell stories. Don't worry, although the hall is a little dark, the service here is really enthusiastic. I'll consider staying for a few more days."
"God bless, if you can stay for a few more days, that would be the best." Hook took a glass of ale and drank it as if it was water. When he saw that Roddy was about to pay, he waved his hand and said, "Take it back, take it back. It's my treat."
Roddy did not decline such kindness. After a few polite words, he returned to his room on the second floor.
This was the fourth day that Roddy had stayed in Hollier. For the past few days, he stayed in this hotel as a "wandering poet". On the surface, he was a wandering fellow who relied on his stories to earn money, but in reality, his purpose was to inadvertently find out information about the various members of the Lucifron family.
As a veteran gamer, Roddy knew that buying information by throwing gold coins in novels was not reliable in Earthbreaker. His previous life as a lone ranger had taught him that only when he gained the trust of the other party, and when it was clear that there was no conflict of interest between the two parties, would the information be the most reliable.
Rich people who threw gold coins for information would most likely end up as fools. Roddy was not that stupid. If he rashly aroused the suspicions of others, the consequences would be dire. When he walked to the desk and sat down, he found that he had actually been "checked".
Reaching out to tidy up the pile of parchment filled with Chinese characters, Roddy could tell that these things had been flipped.
In this kind of place where crooks mixed with honest folk, the other party had flipped through the parchment without taking anything else in the room. Naturally, it was for surveillance and investigation. But Roddy had already expected this, because he was confident that he did not reveal any flaws.
"If you can read Chinese, then you guys are awesome …"
Roddy muttered. After thinking for a moment, he pulled out a piece of paper and looked at it carefully.
On this piece of paper was all the information about Angmar and old Duke in recent years that he had obtained from Hook. The hotel owner's messy narration was reproduced by Roddy in a regular timeline. After collecting the information for the past few days, Roddy could confirm that Angmar? Duke Lucifron's serious illness was caused by the "Soul Extraction Potion".
Five years ago, Duke's temperament changed drastically, and he suddenly cursed without any manners on the hunting ground. Four years ago, his body began to weaken and he could only stay in the Ducal Palace. The priest of the "Rose Cross" went to treat him with holy spells, but it did not improve his condition at all. Three years ago, he began to shut himself in, and he did not even issue a single decree.
The most crucial evidence that made Roddy believe that old Duke was sick was that Hook had once obtained the secret that "old Duke had blue blood at the corner of his eyes" from a certain source.
Ordinary people would not be able to fabricate such details. Although there were a lot of unreliable gossip, Rody clearly remembered that the Soul Extraction Potion would indeed have such an effect after being consumed.
This would not be a coincidence, but an iron-clad fact. All the details were consistent with Roddy's memory. By now, he could already confirm that his judgment was not wrong.
In Roddy's original plan, finding a chance to kill Francis was his top priority. Otherwise, Francis would find out about it sooner or later. By then, he would be in a passive position and might even be deprived of his basic profession. So, assassinating Francis was originally a priority.
But after some investigation, Roddy found that this guy was actually holed up in a heavily guarded manor outside the city. He had no plans to go out at all, so Roddy did not know where to start. So, after thinking for a long time, he directly chose the second method to kill this guy.
He would wake up old Duke of Angmar and use him to solve Sally's current crisis.
This was a "stupid" method, but it had some additional benefits. If he could successfully wake up old Duke and let him know his name, then having a Duke backing him would definitely be more reliable than having that little girl Sally backing him up. After all, Roddy knew that in the entire Eiffta territory, only people like the Dukes Of Angmar were the "bosses."
If he could really wake him up, there was no need to mention the prestige and EXP he would get. The most important thing was that he could then find suitable positions for Sodelor and the others to carry out the next step of his plan. This was the most important thing.
"Francis, oh, Francis … Eat a few more good meals."
As he said this, he reached out and took out another piece of parchment. On it was the time and route map of the patrolling soldiers in the Ducal Palace written in Chinese characters. He reached into his pocket and found a few bottles of potions wrapped tightly in cloth. They were the "Soul Extraction Potion" antidotes made by Roddy.
Back then, regarding the "Soul Extraction Potion", the players explained in the post that there were two ways to make the "Soul Extraction Potion". One required a bunch of herbs in a complicated ratio to be mixed and decocted together. When consumed, one bottle would immediately cure the disease. But obviously, Roddy did not know how to mix it at all, so he could only use the second simple method.
Soak the "Ginseng of Blasphemy" in boiling water and use the boiled water as a potion. This was indeed effective, but the disadvantage was that it needed to be taken in large doses multiple times to see the effect. In his memory, it needed at least three times.
Today, Roddy was ready to "feed" the potion to Old Duke at night. But there was nothing to do in the day. In the few days that he had been in Hollier City, other than gathering information, Roddy remembered that he had not met up with Sally yet. After thinking for a while, he decided to look for her to understand the current situation.
Roddy did not know what Sally had been doing in the monastery for the past few months. In his mind, it was already good enough that she could survive until now.
After changing into an ordinary civilian outfit, Roddy left the tavern and disappeared around the corner of the street.
"Hey, Hook, who is that kid?"
At the bar, someone pointed at Roddy's back and asked.
"Him? Hey, you haven't been here for a while. He's the most popular bard in the bar these few days. To be honest, those stories make my blood boil too. I can't wait to go to the frontline and kill a few Orcs myself! "
"Forget it, Hook. I'm afraid your belly is bigger than a warg!"
The interruption from the side caused the tavern to burst into laughter. However, the middle-aged man sitting in front of Hook didn't laugh. He put on a stern face and asked softly, "I don't want to listen to your nonsense, Hook. Is this guy clean? "
"Yes, he's not a spy sent by the feudal lord. I've sent someone to check his room. Most of the letters in his room are poems and phrases. Some of them are probably new music scores. Anyway, I don't understand them," Hook replied softly.
Hook replied in a low voice. Although the man in front of him didn't look handsome, Hook, who had a high status in the Guild of Thieves, knew that the man was working for Count Francis, and he couldn't afford to slight him.
Hearing his words, the middle-aged man nodded. He raised his hand and pressed a silver coin on the bar counter, gently pushing it in front of Hook. "If there's any other news, remember to inform me."
"Yes, yes …"
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