When Gawain took a quick and secret look at Noretta, the senior agent from the Mithril Treasure House who temporarily replaced Melita Pernia also looked at Gawain twice - she There is indeed some curiosity about this human being, a legendary pioneering hero who came back from the dead, overturned a kingdom, and established a new order... In Noretta's long life, she has seen many people who can be called " "Legendary" figure, and even among these people, Gawain is quite special.
She controlled her gaze and expression, with a faint smile: "So, what kind of consultation do you want to consult?"
"Strictly speaking, it is not consultation, it is I want to confirm something with the 'dragons' behind the mithril treasure house," Gawain waved his hand, showing a serious look, "That's right, a large magic device we set up in the Holy Spirit Plains not long ago captured some mysterious signals. In comparison, humans, elves and even sea monsters can't figure out the source of these signals, so now I suspect that these signals come from the dragon clan.
"Considering the development of magic technology, in order to avoid future conflicts between humans and dragon clan. If there is any misunderstanding, I think it is necessary to confirm with you... "
"Mysterious signal? "The woman in the white dress who called herself Noretta raised her eyebrows, and her expression immediately became more serious, "It's...what's the content? ”
“We haven’t cracked it yet. It is a series of very short tremors and echoes with an unprecedented structural form, which makes scholars confused, but we recorded it with magic crystal copy of it. "Gawain said as he casually moved to the side, and a palm-sized light blue crystal flake placed on the disposal shelf not far away flew quietly into his hand.
This is a recording medium improved by Kamel. Its prototype is a memory crystal commonly used by traditional mages. After optimizing the etching structure within the crystal and executing more advanced standardized production, similar recording media are becoming more and more popular. The more it is used in equipment such as magic network terminals and immersion chambers
“It exists here,” Gawain said, “but I don’t know what equipment you dragons usually use to read it. Something like this, this may require some transformation..."
"No, I can sense its magical structure. "Noretta interrupted Gawain. She stretched out her hand to take the crystal sheet, and gently touched the fine rune carvings on its side with her fingers. Then a star-like light appeared in her light-colored eyes. With the flickering light, in this brief moment, Gawain felt that the magic power around the agent lady in front of him suddenly became extremely active and complex, as if an extremely high-level magic was compressed into a small space. , and completed in an instant.
In just a moment, Noretta completed reading and recording the storage medium. She handed the slightly heated crystal sheet to Gawain: "I have recorded it. , and will then be handed over to my superior for further analysis and processing. Thank you very much for your timely notification and sincere attitude, which helps both of us maintain a good relationship.It's really beneficial. "
Gawain took the crystal sheet and couldn't help but take a deep look at the woman in the white dress in front of him: "Excellent magic skills - Melita has never shown it in front of me. "
"Actually, she's not good at this either," Noretta smiled slightly, "I'm usually responsible for handling paperwork or doing command support work at the rear. This is just something that's used in some jobs.' Little tricks'. "
"It seems that there is a complex and effective job structure within the Mithril Treasure House. I am a little curious about it," Gawain said casually with a smile, "Then, I will wait for the news later. That’s it? "
"I won't keep you waiting too long," Noretta nodded. "We will complete the signal analysis and comparison as soon as possible. In addition, although I can't give you a clear answer yet, judging from what I just read... this thing is probably not sent by Tallond. "
"...Isn't it a dragon? "
"We use another communication technology that will not produce signals with this characteristic," Noretta nodded, "but this world is very vast, and there are many things that even the Dragon Clan doesn't understand. There are some corners and secrets that only my superiors know, so I still have to report them. Maybe the treasurer and high-ranking councilors of the Mithril Treasure House can find out where this thing came from. ”
“Thank you very much. "
...
The Courage has been staying on this desolate and desolate coast for almost a week.
Except for some unusual things on land, Apart from the beasts that are not very afraid of humans, there are only lush plants, the moist and warm sea breeze, and the ruins of towns covered by shrubs and vines.
Earl Owen Dyson stood on the coast. On a rock, when the glorious sun gradually rose to half its height, he took out the gold-plated mechanical watch from his arms, opened the cover and took a look.
At about the same time, there was a road leading to the seashore. Several shaking figures appeared on a path deep in the island, and several sailors emerged from the path covered by shrubs and tall grass.
"Half an hour later than the scheduled gathering time, "When the sailors came to the front, Earl Owen asked calmly, "Are you in trouble? "
A sailor wearing a red turban stood up straight, performed a military salute, and reported meticulously: "Reporting to the captain, I encountered a huge python when I returned. It may have happened under a magical environment. There was a mutation, but it has been resolved. "
"Well," Earl Owen nodded, "Did you find anything? "
"There is only one abandoned manor, and like the town in the center, there are traces of secondary repairs," the sailor said while taking something out of his arms, "In addition, , we found this in the manor. ”
Earl Owen took what the sailor handed him. He saw that it was a badly worn amulet, and the logo on the front of the amulet could no longer be seen at all.It's clear, but judging from the material, this should have been a magic item - Owen Dyson had seen something similar not long ago.
"It was left by the Son of the Storm...it must have been thrown here for more than ten years." The Typhon noble quickly judged the time when the amulet was abandoned. "It looks like At least a dozen years ago, the Sons of the Storm still occupied these islands near the dividing line between offshore and distant seas, but then they abandoned these strongholds close to the human world and went to deeper seas..."
“These cultists have been occupying the property that belongs to the empire and regard the facilities on these islands as their own.” Behind Owen Dyson, the first officer of the Spirit could not help but use a disgusted tone. He muttered, "They left their insane graffiti all over the town and then just walked away. I really hope they are swallowed by the deep sea and sacrificed to the monsters in the deep sea by their fanaticism." "
"I don't care about the fate of the cultists," Count Owen said casually. He put away the amulet and looked at the first officer, "How is the situation on the Courage?"
"We have repaired the anti-magic shell, shield group and two magic engines, but there are still some problems with the transmission mechanism connected to the engine. Technicians said that those big things need professional facilities at the port to completely repair them. On this beach with nothing, they can only 'recover one leg'."
"How much can it be repaired?"
"Set sail? No problem, but the speed is only about two-thirds of the previous one, and once it encounters the same level of 'disordered turbulence' again, the entire drive shaft will break," the first mate said frankly, as if to reinforce it. Persuasively, he emphasized again, "One hundred percent will break."
"Since this is the result of the technicians' best efforts, we can only accept it. We have to return. I believe that the Spirit will It is difficult to overcome this difficulty, and we should not be lucky enough to encounter two disorderly turbulences in a row offshore," Earl Owen said, looking back at the HMS Courage - that beautiful ship docked on the sea not far away. The advanced magic ship was lying quietly among the gentle waves. The hull covered with magic metal and the high-power magnetic storm crystal on the bow shone brightly under the huge sun. After a brief gaze, the count took back The first mate nodded and took out a short staff inlaid with many gems from his waist. As the gems on the staff lit up one by one, he released the communication technique and conveyed the captain's order to the personnel on duty on the Courage.
After watching the first mate do all this, Earl Owen nodded and looked towards the depths of the island: "Take a few people with you and let's go to that town again."
The first mate glanced at the count and did not ask anything. He quickly selected the capable and alert sailor and embarked on the journey with the count.A trail leads to the center of the island.
Stepping on the old stone road that had obvious signs of repair but had been abandoned again, Owen Dyson walked deeper into the former imperial territory. The sailors who were responsible for exploring the path had used spells and swords to clear away the shrubs and vines blocking the road. In addition, the entire Thassos Island itself was not very big. He quickly passed through the path covered by the trees and arrived. On the edge of a silent and lifeless town.
This is the largest human building complex on Thassos. Seven hundred years ago, it was also the first springboard for the empire's offshore waters. In that prosperous but too short period, countless diligent builders, ambitious captains and merchants, and adventurers pursuing dreams gathered here, including spices, gold, precious minerals in the high seas, and rare treasures on land. Everything flows here, and all of this made this humble island of Thassos a prosperous "gold place" at that time.
After the short golden age ended, what ushered in here was a longer period of decline - the former sea protectors turned into crazy and depraved cultists in the blink of an eye, a land of gold. It became the territory of the Sons of the Storm, and the wealth of the empire became nutrients for the cultists to multiply themselves, and in the end, those who had no time to evacuate...
Earl Owen raised his head and glanced at the abandoned buildings. The obscure runes left by the Sons of the Storm can be seen everywhere on the houses and towers of the past, and the original emblems of the Typhon or Dyson families have long since disappeared.
At the end of the road, in a small square, Earl Owen also saw a pile of ashes still emitting fine smoke. Some broken sculpture fragments could still be seen in the ashes. and ritual tools - they were relics of the dark sect that the sailors had collected from all over the town. The cultists who once occupied this place had evacuated, so the sailors could only burn the things they left behind.
Earl Owen walked around the ashes, around the small square, and arrived in front of the town hall.
On the steps in front of the hall, a tattered dark blue flag was thrown to the ground, depicting the twisted emblem of storm and lightning.
Irving glanced down at the flag and stepped forward - he and the sailors stepped over the steps, passed through the open main entrance of the hall, and came to the empty assembly hall. Finally, he stood in the assembly hall He stopped in front of the deepest wall of the hall, and there were only two empty hooks on this wall and some moss growing along the wall.
The count looked up for a while, then lowered his head and groped in his arms. Soon, he took out a neatly folded piece of cloth and carefully unfolded it.
It was a very old flag, even so old that it had faded. However, because the fabric was mixed with magical threads and had been carefully preserved, it remained intact and solemn after seven hundred years. On the black background, the emblems of the shield and crown are dim but still clearly visible.
After carefully examining it, the count raised theHands up, Typhon's banner was solemnly re-hung in the town hall of Thassos.
Then he took off another thing from his waist - a sword that had been passed down from generation to generation in his family.
The hilt of the sword is engraved with a pale golden harpoon pattern, which was the coat of arms given to the first Earl Dyson by the founder of Typhon seven hundred years ago. This sword represents It represents the inheritance of the Dyson family and the glory of the first generation of builders on Thassos Island.
The sword and the flag were all things that the ancestor of the family took away from Thassos when they evacuated from here - that ancestor did not leave anything behind to bring these things back to Thassos. Dao's last words, because he died in the sea when organizing the second evacuation, but after that, the relics left by the ancestors became the long-term responsibility of the Dyson descendants.
After placing the sword under the flag, Earl Owen finally breathed a sigh of relief. He returned to the sailors, turned around, and quietly stared at the sword on the wall with everyone. and flags, just like the people in this hall seven hundred years ago.
A few minutes later, they left the town hall and were on their way back to the Spirit.
The brilliance of the huge sun shines on the ruined town. Unknown birds and beasts are noisy and screaming in the nearby dense forest. Lush plants continue to grow quietly on this land. The distant Toward the coast, the loud and melodious whistle of the Spirit was sounding, urging the crew to return to the beach to gather.
......
Aldernan, in the study room of Obsidian Palace, Emperor Rosetta Augustus put down the documents in her hand and looked up at the two people sitting opposite. The mage showed a smile on his face:
"After many hardships, good news finally came from the 'Courage' that they successfully set foot on Thassos Island - today is a day worth celebrating. A master."