"Are you a native of Eygut? You have a cat with you, and you even cook for it first. "Metatro asked Amon when they were camping at night. He had short, curly, golden-brown hair. His skin was very white, and his nose was high and straight. He was very handsome. In the eyes of most girls in the world, his smile must be very charming, and his teeth were very white and neat.
Amon asked in confusion, "Why is the one who cooks for the cat first a native of Eygut?"
Medanzo replied, "The people of Eygut worship cats and regard them as the incarnation of the gods. That's the only reason why they love cats so much. Aren't you one of them?" When he saw that the mage who saved him was so young, he was also surprised. However, Amon did not take the initiative to introduce himself.
Amon smiled and replied, "Oh, this cat is a friend of an elder of mine. He asked me to take good care of it. I am indeed from Eygut, and my name is Amon. I have been learning magic since I was very young, but I am still only a second-level mage. You said that you are from Bablon City, the capital of the Kingdom of Bablon. Why are you in the mountains of Hittite? "
Since he had already exposed his mastery of magic in a moment of desperation, he might as well go with the flow and pretend to be a mage from Ejypt. After all, it was impossible for Metatro to verify his identity.
Medanzo asked, "Hittite? This is the territory of Bablon! … Hmm, I might have made a mistake. There are no obvious landmarks here in the first place. To tell you the truth, my great-grandfather was also a mage, but he died here in the war a long time ago. I am here to find his relics. Dear mage, why did you come to such a dangerous and remote place? "
Amon thought of something inexplicably. He was stunned for a moment before he replied, "My intention is similar to yours. A high priest lost something here many years ago. He ordered me to find it and told me that this is also a kind of training."
Medanzo blurted out, "Did you offend him? Why did he send such a young mage here?" Then he explained, "I didn't mean to offend you. I was just saying."
Amon didn't mind at all. He waved his hand and said, "This is indeed a kind of punishment. I did something wrong, so I am willing to accept this kind of punishment."
Medanzo smiled and said, "It's impossible for an ordinary high priest to travel through the mountains and come here. He must have left something behind when he was flying in the air. If it's nearby, I can find someone to help."
Amon was surprised. "Find someone to help? Who could he find here? Aren't you also here to look for your ancestor's ruins? "
Medanzo explained again, "I've been here several times and got to know the largest dwarf tribe nearby. They should be the ones who are most familiar with this area. You can ask them to help you find the thing you lost in the mountains. "
Amon asked, "Cavemen? You have dealings with their tribe? What's going on today? Why did you go to the pool and disturb those Ironbacks? I've never seen that kind of mutated Ironbacks. "
Medanzo replied with some embarrassment, "Although I didn't find the ancestor's ruins, I became familiar with the dwarf tribe here and often traded with them. This tribe doesn't have many good things, but they can smelt refined iron embryos, which are very valuable. I also need money to travel deep into the mountains these years, so I traded with them. This place may still be in Bablon, so it's not smuggling, is it? "
Refined iron was officially controlled in every country. Such a private transaction was more or less illegal. But Amon was too lazy to care about this kind of business. He asked casually, "Are you looking for ore? Do you want to smelt refined iron yourself? "
Medanzo was stunned. "Isn't this your first time here? How do you know that there is the best refined iron sand here?"
Amon shrugged and said, "It's my first time here, but I've known for a long time that the best refined iron sand can be found in the excrement of the Ironbacks!"
Medanzo was stunned, and his expression became very strange in the light of the fire. He cursed in a low voice and said, "The so-called best raw material of Damasang ore is actually the excrement of the Ironbacks! That damn chief didn't tell me that. "
Amon was also stunned. "Ah, so you didn't know. Then how did they tell you?"
Medanzo said bitterly, "The tribe here produces the best refined iron embryos, which are much better than ordinary refined iron. In our place, it's called Damasang. A small piece of it can be taken out of the mountains and you can make a lot of money, but the production is very small. I asked the chief if we could get more. The chief said that the ore was difficult to mine, and said that there was a pool in the mountains with silt that was rich in the best Damasang ore. But there was an Ironback King living in the pool, and it was very dangerous to mine, so their people didn't dare to come.
I thought that as an intermediate warrior, it should be no problem to deal with an Ironback King, so I came quietly. I wanted to kill the Ironback King and let the dwarves see my power. The chief didn't tell me that there were four, and he didn't tell me that the ore was the excrement of the Ironbacks. As a result, I almost lost my life here. Fortunately, I met you. "
Amon looked at him and couldn't help but laugh. The laughter grew louder and louder, and then Medanzo also laughed. The two laughed at each other, and waves of echoes came from the mountains at night. Schrödinger, who was dozing off, raised his head and looked at the two with dissatisfaction. His expression seemed to say — what's so funny! Isn't it embarrassing?
…
After the sun rose the next day, Amon leaned on a branch and carried Schrödinger on his back. Under the guidance of Medanzo, he continued to walk to higher ground. Although he didn't intend to let the cavemen help him find Bair, it was always useful to find out if there were any noteworthy places in the vicinity.
The clouds on the high mountains looked like a floating sea from afar, but when you walked closer, it was like a misty fog. Amon had almost passed through the clouds for the third time. Halfway through, he suddenly heard something in front of him. He stopped with his staff and said, "Medanzo, there seems to be a sound in front of us. It doesn't sound like an animal, it's more like human footsteps."
Medanzo jumped onto a big rock and looked forward with his sword in hand. After a while, he suddenly shouted, "Link, you old bastard, come here quickly! You lied to me so badly, see how I'll deal with you! "
A group of people came out from the woods at the bend of the mountain road. The leader was the "old bastard" that Medanzo scolded. He didn't look very old, probably only about 30 years old. His skin was slightly darker, but it was the fairest among the people. He was wearing clothes made of animal skin and a pair of straw shoes. He was the only one who wore shoes among the group. He was also the chief of the cavemen tribe.
As soon as Link saw Medanzo, he hurried forward and said, "You've wronged me. I heard that you went to the cold pool where the king of Ironbacks lived to mine sand. I couldn't find you when it was dark, so I gathered the warriors of the tribe to save you when the sun rose."
Behind Link, there were more than 30 "warriors". Some of them were holding simple bows and arrows, some were holding spears with wooden handles tied to iron heads, and some were holding very interesting weapons. They were slender and rough flat iron bars, sharpened on one side, which could be used to stab or cut, but they were not made into the shape of knives.
These people were not too short, but the chief Link said that they were the strongest warriors of the tribe. They should be the tallest, but they were about the average height of an ordinary adult. It seemed that the cavemen were called dwarfs for a reason.
As soon as Medanzo saw Link, he jumped down from the rock and pretended to knock his head with the ridge of his sword. "By the time you came to save me, I would have been eaten by the Ironbacks! Didn't you say there was a king of Ironbacks? Why did I meet four of them? "
"Ah!" Link exclaimed. His mouth was wide open, and he blocked with a short stick in his hand. His short stick was made of some beast's bone, and there was even a parangon inlaid on it. It looked very much like a mage's staff.
He looked up and down at Medanzo. "You can come back safely? Yesterday, you sneaked away alone before we finished talking. I told you again and again not to go without me. What you met was not the king of the Ironbacks, but the big ones guarding the king's lair. The king of the Ironbacks usually only comes out after midnight. … Four big Ironbacks! Are you all right? "
Medanzo took out a yellow-black, five-inch-long hook-like thing from his pocket. It was the "trophy" he got yesterday, the beast's claw that he cut off with his sword. He showed it off and said, "Look at this! Fortunately, a noble mage helped me, and I cut off this claw with my own hands. "
The crowd gasped. Link looked enviously at the claw in Medanzo's hand and asked curiously, "Mage? What mage? Is he your friend? "
Medanzo replied proudly, "He's not only my friend, but also my savior. You ignorant old man. You haven't even heard of a mage, have you? He's much better than you! "
Amon came out from behind the big rock. These cavemen had never even heard of a mage, so he didn't have to introduce himself. They just thought of him as a friend of Medanzo and a guest of the tribe. They were welcomed to the mountain together with Medanzo.
This tribe really had the characteristics of "cavemen". It was built on a flat slope under a low stone wall. There were many natural caves along the stone wall, which were artificially excavated for habitation. A fire was lit in the largest cave. Some people took turns to fetch firewood every day to keep the fire burning. It was a common fire source for all the families in the tribe.
Although the dwarves here already knew how to make fire with flint, the fire was also a symbol of the whole tribe. The big cave burning with fire was equivalent to a shrine in a general town, and the open space in front of the cave was also a place for the whole tribe to gather. There were also houses on the hillside not far from the stone wall. They were built with wood and thatch, and the walls were smeared with mud. They were simple but strong.
Those who lived in the houses were people of high status in the tribe. Medanzo seemed to be very respected here, so there was a house for him to live in. Amon also lived in this thatched hut.
At dusk, there was a gathering in the tribe. A group of people were jumping around a pile of firewood in an open space. They were passing the beast claw that Metatro had chopped off to each other, imitating all kinds of chopping movements, as if they were the ones who chopped off the beast claw. They looked very intoxicated.
Amon and Medanzo, who worked together to fight the Ironback, sat in the most distinguished position, right in front of the big cave burning with the fire, together with the chief Link. Medanzo whispered in Amon's ear, "This is the happiest time of the day. They will dance until the fire goes out before going back to sleep."
Amon also whispered, "What are they doing with the claw? They look like they are drunk. "
Medanzo said, "It's a ritual. They fantasize about gaining the power to kill the beast, to give them confidence and courage, to not be afraid when hunting, and to succeed every time. Anyway, it's a kind of witchcraft prayer."
It was getting dark while they were talking. A dwarf took a branch to the big cave to get a fire, and it seemed that he was going to light the firewood in the open space. Amon suddenly remembered something mentioned in the message left by Crazy 'Ole. He stood up with the branch in one hand and pointed at the firewood in the distance with the other hand.
A wind swirled around the firewood, and a light appeared in the wind. The light turned into threads of fire, and the threads of fire turned into tongues of dancing flames in the wind. The flames ignited the firewood. Although it was the simplest fire summoning magic, the effect was both magical and dazzling when it was performed with air magic.
The dwarves who were dancing around the fire stopped, and the others who were sitting in a circle also stood up. Then Amon saw all of them prostrate to him, their faces full of reverence and fear. Link also saluted him, and Amon clearly heard him say, "O messenger of the gods, you bring warmth and light!"
Medanzo also stood up and bowed to Amon, but he quietly winked and whispered, "You are so good, it's so beautiful! Unfortunately, I am not a mage, or I would have done it long ago. "
**
Introduction of the characters in this chapter
Link: The chief of the caveman tribe, knows some simple magic, and is equivalent to the tribe's priest.
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