book of old days

Chapter 29

The next journey was long and boring. He went all the way south from Sword Castle, and now he took a big detour to Nordland in the north. It took a day and a night to come, but it took several days and nights to go there. .

When passing by Bran, the capital, Sean thought of Delia. That woman should be in Bran now. He hadn't seen her since that ecstasy night, and he felt somewhat regretful, if it wasn't for At that time, he had to worry about seeing a doctor, and he almost went to Bran to find Delia's whereabouts.

His feelings for Delia are very complicated—actually, it's not that complicated. He is greedy for her beautiful body, as well as curious and nostalgic for her unique character.

At this moment, he had a faint urge to get out of the car and go to Bran to find that woman. As for the danger—perhaps the most dangerous place is the safest place.

However, this idea just passed by in a flash, and he immediately threw it behind him. Compared with love, it is power that makes a man desperately pursue it.

The train goes north after passing Bran. This railway line that connects almost all the large cities in the Kingdom of Brighton is U-shaped, and Nord is at the top of the U-shaped.

Brighton is located in the north, and Nordland has a cold climate close to the poles. As the train gets closer to the destination, the climate also drops, and the fields gradually disappear, replaced by gray-green forests and yellow grasslands. And the uninhabited wasteland, through the window of the train, you can often see the bleak and vast scene.

On the fifth day, the train entered Nordland, and the scene at this time almost completely changed to the original ecological environment.

The Nords are not good at farming, and they have no interest in trading and grazing. In ancient times, their usual occupation was looting. Groups of people went down the river or along the coast to rob the treasures of the southern countries. In recent hundreds of years, It gradually became the birthplace of mercenaries.

In addition to plundering, the Nords also operate fur and timber businesses, as well as fishing and ore. The towns they pass along the way are more or less related to these industries.

Sean is very glad that he chose a fur trader as a cover. There are quite a few people dressed like him. Along the way, he met many "peers" and even chatted with a few of them, gaining a lot from it. Useful information. Compared with the Bretons, the Nords are rougher, but because of this, they have no scheming. He easily grasped the basic information that a fur trader should have.

Winter is the season for fur shipments, and the cold weather greatly increases the fur shipments. Therefore, every autumn, a large number of fur traders will go north to buy goods and make them into fur products before the coldest season arrives. .

Most fur merchants have their own regular customers, and the fur is obtained from the prey. Therefore, the number of hunters you know determines the quantity of a fur merchant's supply. If you don't know the contacts, it is difficult to buy enough fur. .

Nords like to deal with acquaintances, of course, it doesn't matter if you don't know them well, as long as you can drink and put aside your face, you can make friends with Nords in taverns.

Sean is not good at drinking, but fortunately Sean doesn't care about it, he just needs this identity as a cover.

On the sixth day, the train finally arrived at the northernmost terminus of the railway - Norem.

This is the largest city in Nordland, with a permanent population of more than 10 people. It is already a very prosperous place in Nordland, which is sparsely populated.

There are shops, hospitals, bookstores, and even a large theater that presents local specialties every day.

Sean stayed here for a whole day, recovering a bit from the fatigue from the journey, and had a big meal by the way, but he did not choose to stay. Although Norem is not as good as Sword Castle, Bran and other big cities , but it was still too prosperous, and the place was not remote enough to make him feel safe living alone. Where the train could reach, the Kingdom's spies could reach it. With convenient transportation, there was naturally a risk of revealing his identity.

Sitting on the bed in the hotel, he struggled with the map for a long time. If he continued to go north, there were not many human towns and villages. Of course, he couldn't really live alone, so he had to choose a place among those towns that were extremely far apart.

Two hundred leagues to the north of Norem, there is a town called Nogforsen, and further north is a small town called Ailol. On the other side, there is a small fishing village called Ace.

Sean wasn't sure where he should stop. After struggling for a long time, he decided to go on the road first. Maybe the answer would come naturally when he got there.

But then he can only ride in a carriage.

At this time, it has entered late autumn, and the coldness in the north is just beginning to emerge. Sean is very glad that he bought this fur coat. It was quite stuffy when he was in Port Holden, but now it has become a life-saving item to keep out the cold.

Needing supplies before setting off, Sean bought 20 pounds of smoked venison, two cans of wild boar fat, a whole loaf of hard bread, a dozen apples, two cans of mead and a bottle of spirits at the game shop in Norem. A pair of sea otter fur hats, a hunting knife, and a large number of fixed bullets for revolvers by the way. These things are high-tech products in this era, and he doesn't think they can be bought further north.

Then they boarded the stagecoach.

The driver was an old man wrapped in a bear fur coat. His gray beard made him look like Santa Claus. There was half a bear face attached to the top of the fur coat. The old man put the bear face on his head in a very entertaining way. Warm against the cold with a somewhat wild decorative effect.

Sean was in the same car with two other fur traders, a store clerk, and a local hunter who bought supplies from Norem and returned home.

Everyone wore furs, and the cabin smelled of tobacco and wild animal fur.

Sean was used to the smell, and he tucked the suitcase and the bag of smoked venison down his ass, chatting happily with a few people.

The old hunter is an acquaintance. He inquired with two fur traders about the price of this year's goods, and also chatted with Sean about fur. Especially when he learned that Sean was here for the first time, he took the initiative to help It provides advice.

"If you want to buy fur, I suggest you buy as much as possible rabbit skin, fox skin, and otter skin. These small furs are excellent for scarves and gloves. Bran's lady is willing to spend a lot of money to buy one. If you are interested, I have a lot of this kind of fur at home, and I can give you a wholesale price."

Sean saw at a glance that this was a clumsy trick for the old man to sell his own products, he smiled and nodded, "Really, then I can thank you."

Sean was talking one after another. He looked out of the car window. At this time, the car was gradually moving away from Norem, driving on a vast wasteland. There were no crops, no human habitation, and heather trees and grasses everywhere. There are bushes and weeds, and there are forests and mountains in the distance. The air is so cold that he can exhale white breath. He saw a puddle on the side of the road. When the wheels rolled over, he heard the creaking sound of ice balls breaking.

At this moment, all signs of civilization are gradually moving away from his sight. Sean can't say whether he sighed or heaved a sigh of relief. Looking at Norem who gradually disappeared from his sight in the distance, he is far away from danger. The sense of relaxation, but also the tension of stepping into a strange and wild field.

This very novel feeling made him very interested, and even made him talk a little more.

"Then what is the most valuable fur?"

The old hunter thought for a while, "The snow leopard skin is very valuable, the direwolf is also very good, and there is also the white deer skin, but the most valuable one is of course the white tiger skin. The ancient Nords believed that only the warriors appointed by destiny could kill the white tiger. , so everyone wearing the white tiger shirt can get the awe from the enemy.

But since shotguns became popular, any idiot can try to hunt them, and those pure white beasts have gradually disappeared. Now it is difficult to see these animals, only in the icy forests and snowy fields farther north. Among them, these white animals are only found in those cold hells where eggs can be frozen. "

As the old man spoke, he lowered his voice suddenly: "It is said that there is an island at the end of the ice sea in the north. There is a forest shrouded in magic on the island, which is full of rare and exotic animals. White animals are everywhere, and there are even legends. The white spirit beast, it lives in the forest like a ghost, and sometimes walks on the sea and under the sky. It is shaped like a horse, but it has antlers and a pair of glowing eyes. The souls of Nord warriors go to the land of no worries, to escape the tragic fate of falling into the nether land after death..."

"Nonsense!" The fur trader who had been listening to the conversation between the two suddenly said disdainfully, "It's just the ignorant delusion and legend of the ancient barbarians. If it really exists, why has no one made it out of its fur? overcoat or coat, so that those things don’t exist.”

(End of this chapter)